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IT grades exchange rollout

By Allison Bell

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Has anything related to the launch of the public exchange websites worked?

Jay Dunlap, general manager of EXL Landa, assessed the hits and misses in a recent email interview.

Dunlap is a veteran system integrator who knows how to code and has been helping various groups connect with the exchange systems.

So, has every exchange website been an abject failure?

Dunlap says several state exchange sites actually have worked well.

“California’s, for example, has had generally favorable user feedback, and a significant number of users have registered,” Dunlap said.

Dunlap says the biggest problems have been with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ HealthCare.gov and the exchanges’ weak efforts to communicate with exchange partners and the general public about technical issues.

Dunlap sees exchange sites suffering from a combination of inadequate capacity and testing.

Most of the outright errors users area result of not enough testing before launch, Dunlap says.

Members of the general public might look at the problems at HealthCare.gov and think, “Why not just sell the exchange plans through eHealthInsurance, Travelocity, Amazon, or some other website that actually works?”

In the real world, using outside sites to sell the exchange plans on an emergency basis would not be technically possible, Dunlap says.

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