Only 6 People Enrolled on Health Site's First Day

And just 248 were enrolled by second day: documents
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 1, 2013 7:18 AM CDT
Updated Nov 1, 2013 7:52 AM CDT
Only 6 People Enrolled on Health Site's First Day
In this Oct. 28, 2013, file screenshot, the US Department of Health and Human Services' main landing web page for HealthCare.gov.   (AP Photo/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, File)

Another painful morning in the press for HealthCare.gov: Just six people signed up via the federal website on the first day, according to documents released by Congress last night. By the second day, only 248 had successfully enrolled, USA Today reports. On Wednesday, Kathleen Sebelius testified to Congress that the administration doesn't have "any reliable data around enrollment" and couldn't give figures; an HHS spokesperson tells ABC News the numbers released by the House Oversight Committee are unofficial.

Those unofficial figures come from notes taken during "war room" meetings held on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, CBS News reports. Specific problems are also noted; the Washington Post reports on one category in the notes labeled "on-going issues." It includes items like "high capacity on the website, direct enrollment not working" and "Experian creating confusion with credit check information." Official figures will be released this month, the HHS rep says, "after coordinating information from different sources such as paper, online, and call centers, verifying with insurers, and collecting data from states." (More ObamaCare stories.)

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