The White House is launching a new campaign today to promote the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and a revamped website, though Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has his doubts. Grassley, a Republican, was asked if he had confidence in Obamacare, version 2.0. “I believe that the website was never really the problem,” Grassley says. “It was a symptom of bigger problems and I think you’re going to have problems cropping up for the next six months.”
The health-care-dot-gov website was launched October 1st and was heavily criticized for its many technical bugs. A report released in mid-November found only 136 Iowans had purchased health insurance plans through the website during the first month, though some 300,000 Iowans have no health care coverage.
Grassley says he hopes the website has been brought up to speed. “I think more people will be able to sign up, probably, the way it’s fixed,” Grassley says, “but it seems to me people are having a hard time getting confirmation that they actually have insurance.” The refurbished website now sports a system of putting new visitors into a queue so people who are already working through the process should be able to complete their applications without as much trouble.