Kathleen Sebelius apologizes for Obamacare website fiasco while Obama ... - New York Daily News

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[h=4]Alex Wong/Getty Images[/h]Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has apologized to the nation for the botched launch of the Obamacare website, admitting that Americans 'deserve better.'

WASHINGTON — While Kathleen Sebelius took the heat for Obamacare on Capitol Hill Wednesday, her boss got out of town — and told cheering Bostonians that his namesake law will be a success.
Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, apologized to the nation for the botched launch of the Affordable Care Act in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“In these early weeks, access to health care has been a miserably frustrating experience,” the former Kansas governor said.

[h=4]Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg[/h][h=4]The failure of Obamacare's website to process millions of applications drew fire from contractors who said more time was needed for final testing and from lawmakers who traded criticism over political motivations.[/h]
“Let me say directly to these Americans: you deserve better,” Sebelius said. “I apologize.”
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President Obama struck a less contrite tone in Boston as he defended the law by touting successes of the Massachusetts measure it was modeled on.

[h=4]Charles Dharapak/AP[/h][h=4]President Obama smiles after he said that environmental protesters who interrupted his speech were at the wrong event as he speaks about the Affordable Care Act at Boston's historic Faneuil Hall.[/h]
“I’m confident that these marketplaces will work because Massachusetts has shown that the model works,” Obama said .
“We are going to see this through,” he said, pounding a podium to cheers.
Back in Washington, Sebelius had to suffer the ignominy of testifying before a video screen of healthcare.gov showing this message: “The system is down at the moment.”

[h=4]Alex Brandon/ASSOCIATED PRESS[/h][h=4]Rep. Marsha Blackburn, (R-Tenn.) pushed Sebelius to name the person responsible for the website failures.[/h]
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In a charged exchange, she at first deflected responsibility for the problems plaguing the site, an online exchange where health insurance plans are available under Obamacare.
Pressed by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to say who was responsible, Sebelius reluctantly cited Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chief Operating Officer Michelle Snyder.

[h=4]Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images[/h][h=4]Sebelius says she is 'as frustrated as anyone' by the site's problems.[/h]
“Michelle Snyder is the one responsible for this debacle?” Blackburn asked.
“Excuse me, congresswoman,” Sebelius interjected. “Hold me accountable for the debacle. I’m responsible.”
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[h=4]KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS[/h][h=4]Cathey Park of Cambridge, Mass., holds up her cast, which reads 'I Love Obamacare,' for President Obama to sign during a health insurance event at Faneuil Hall, Boston.[/h]
The exchange captured Sebelius’ problem. As the head of the department in charge of implementing the law, she is a top Republican target, though by all accounts she had a minor role in the website’s design.
The hearing marked a shift by Republicans, who moved their focus from website problems to assailing President Obama’s promise that “if you like your health care, you can keep it.”
GOP lawmakers say the claim has proven false as insurers cancel hundreds of thousands of policies for Americans who buy insurance themselves.
Sebelius and Democrats said the canceled policies do not meet requirements for minimum coverage under the new law. They said those who lose policies can get better and cheaper coverage under Obamacare.
“I would urge my colleagues to stop hyperventilating,” said the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.).
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