OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

http://oig.hhs.gov

The mission of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), as mandated by Public Law 95-452, as amended, is to protect

the integrity of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) programs, as well as the health and welfare of 

beneficiaries served by those programs. This statutory mission is carried out through a nationwide network of 

audits, investigations, and inspections conducted by the following operating components:

OFFICE OF AUDIT SERVICES

The Office of Audit Services (OAS) provides auditing services for HHS, either by conducting audits with its own audit 

resources or by overseeing audit work done by others. Audits examine the performance of HHS programs and/or its 

grantees and contractors in carrying out their respective responsibilities and are intended to provide independent 

assessments of HHS programs and operations. These assessments help reduce waste, abuse, and mismanagement 

and promote economy and efficiency throughout HHS.

OFFICE OF EVALUATION AND INSPECTIONS

The Office of Evaluation and Inspections (OEI) conducts national evaluations to provide HHS, Congress, and the 

public with timely, useful, and reliable information on significant issues. These evaluations focus on preventing 

fraud, waste, or abuse and promoting economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of departmental programs. To 

promote impact, OEI reports also present practical recommendations for improving program operations. 

OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS

The Office of Investigations (OI) conducts criminal, civil, and administrative investigations of fraud and misconduct 

related to HHS programs, operations, and beneficiaries. With investigators working in all 50 States and the District of 

Columbia, OI utilizes its resources by actively coordinating with the Department of Justice and other Federal, State, 

and local law enforcement authorities. The investigative efforts of OI often lead to criminal convictions, 

administrative sanctions, and/or civil monetary penalties.

OFFICE OF COUNSEL TO THE INSPECTOR GENERAL

The Office of Counsel to the Inspector General (OCIG) provides general legal services to OIG, rendering advice and 

opinions on HHS programs and operations and providing all legal support for OIG’s internal operations. OCIG 

represents OIG in all civil and administrative fraud and abuse cases involving HHS programs, including False Claims 

Act, program exclusion, and civil monetary penalty cases. In connection with these cases, OCIG also negotiates and 

monitors corporate integrity agreements. OCIG renders advisory opinions, issues compliance program guidance, 

publishes fraud alerts, and provides other guidance to the health care industry concerning the anti-kickback statute 

and other OIG enforcement authorities.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace i 

HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace OEI-06-14-00350 

FOREWORD

This case study examines implementation of HealthCare.gov and the Federal Marketplace by the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), from passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 through the second open 

enrollment period in 2015. As required by the ACA, HealthCare.gov is the Federal website that facilitates purchase of 

private health insurance for consumers who reside in States that did not establish health insurance marketplaces. At 

its launch on October 1, 2013, and for some time after, HealthCare.gov users were met with website outages and 

technical malfunctions. After corrective action by CMS and contractors following the launch, CMS ended the first open 

enrollment period with 5.4 million individuals having selected a plan through the Federal Marketplace. 

In our oversight role for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) 

has a significant body of ongoing and planned audits and evaluations regarding the Federal Marketplace and other 

ACA provisions of high interest and concern to HHS, Congress, and other stakeholders. These include reviews and 

suggestions for improvements related to the accuracy of Federal financial assistance payments; verifications of 

eligibility determinations for insurance, premium tax credits, and cost-sharing reductions; and CMS’s management of 

marketplace contracts and the security of personal information. OIG reports about the marketplaces are available 

online at www.oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/aca/, and additional information about our planned and ongoing 

work is available online in OIG Work Plan documents at http://www.oig.hhs.gov/reports-andpublications/workplan/index.asp. 

ABOUT THIS CASE STUDY

The objective of this case study was to gain insight into CMS implementation and management of the Federal 

Marketplace, focusing primarily on HealthCare.gov. Our review spans 5 years, providing a chronology of events and 

identifying factors that contributed to the website’s breakdown at launch, its recovery following corrective action, and 

implementation of the Federal Marketplace through the second open 

enrollment period. OIG calls on CMS to address identified problems 

and employ lessons learned from management of this project to avoid 

future problems with program implementation and to further 

strengthen CMS. In conducting this review, we interviewed 86 current 

and former HHS and CMS officials, staff, and contractors involved with 

the development and management of the website. We also reviewed 

thousands of HHS and CMS documents, including management reports, 

internal correspondence, and website development contracts.

WHAT WE FOUND 

The development of HealthCare.gov faced a high risk of failure, given 

the technical complexity required, the fixed deadline, and a high degree 

of uncertainty about mission, scope, and funding. Still, we found that 

HHS and CMS made many missteps throughout development and 

implementation that led to the poor launch. Most critical was the 

absence of clear leadership, which caused delays in decisionmaking, 

lack of clarity in project tasks, and the inability of CMS to recognize the 

magnitude of problems as the project deteriorated. Additional HHS and 

CMS missteps included devoting too much time to developing policy, 

which left too little time for developing the website; making poor 

technical decisions; and failing to properly manage its key website 

WHAT’S INSIDE THIS REPORT

› Detailed chronology of CMS’s 

development and implementation of 

the Federal Marketplace and 

HealthCare.gov in four chapters:

› Preparation & Development

› Final Countdown to Launch

› Launch, Correction, & First Open 

Enrollment

› Turnaround & Second Open 

Enrollment

› Key Contributing Factors to the 

website breakdown and recovery

› Call for continued progress with 

Lessons Learned for ongoing CMS 

management of HealthCare.gov

› Glossary of key terms
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace ii

development contract. CMS’s organizational structure and culture also hampered progress, including poor 

coordination between policy and technical work, resistance to communicating and heeding warnings of “bad news,” 

and reluctance to alter plans in the face of problems. CMS continued on a failing path to developing HealthCare.gov 

despite signs of trouble, making rushed corrections shortly before the launch that proved insufficient. These 

structural, cultural, and tactical deficiencies were particularly problematic for HealthCare.gov given the significant 

challenges of implementing a new program involving multiple stakeholders and a large technology build. 

Following the launch on October 1, 2013, CMS and contractors pivoted quickly to corrective action, reorganizing the 

work to focus on key priorities and to improve execution. This required significant and focused effort to measure 

website performance, correct problems with website capacity and functions, and establish a new project structure. 

Key factors that contributed to recovery of the website included CMS adopting a “badgeless” culture for the project, 

wherein all CMS staff and contractors worked together as a team, and a practice of “ruthless prioritization” that 

aligned work efforts with the most important and achievable goals. CMS recovered the HealthCare.gov website for 

high consumer use within 2 months, and adopted more effective organizational practices, such as closer integration of 

policy and technical functions, developing redundancies in anticipation of problems, and flexibility in learning from and 

modifying processes.

CALL FOR CONTINUED PROGRESS

CMS continues to face challenges in implementing the Federal Marketplace, and in improving operations and services 

provided through HealthCare.gov. As of February 1, 2016, CMS reported that over 9.6 million consumers had selected 

a health plan through the Federal Marketplace or had their coverage automatically renewed. As CMS moves forward, 

challenges include completing the automated financial management system and continuing to address areas OIG has 

identified in past reports as problematic or needing improvement. The agency has focused on this project for years 

and now must keep attuned to these challenges as it shifts focus to other work. 

OIG calls on CMS to continue progress in applying lessons learned from HealthCare.gov to avoid future problems and 

to maintain improvement across the agency. These lessons comprise core management principles that address both 

specific project challenges and organizational structure, and could apply to other organizations. CMS concurred with 

OIG’s call for continued progress, stating that it will continue to employ the lessons below and that, since OIG’s review, 

it has implemented several initiatives to further improve its management. 

LESSONS LEARNED

 Leadership

Assign clear project leadership to provide cohesion across 

tasks and a comprehensive view of progress.

 Communication

Promote acceptance of bad news and encourage staff to 

identify and communicate problems.

 Alignment

Align project and organizational strategies with the 

resources and expertise available.

 Execution

Design clear strategies for disciplined execution, and 

continually measure progress.

 Culture

Identify and address factors of organizational culture that 

may affect project success.

 Oversight

Ensure effectiveness of IT contracts by promoting 

innovation, integration, and rigorous oversight.

 Simplification

Seek to simplify processes, particularly for projects with a 

high risk of failure.

 Planning

Develop contingency plans that are quickly actionable, 

such as redundant and scalable systems.

 Integration

Integrate policy and technological work to promote 

operational awareness.

 Learning

Promote continuous learning to allow for flexibility and 

changing course quickly when needed.
KEY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO BREAKDOWN

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace iii

PREPARATION & DEVELOPMENT 

March 2010–December 2012 

Policy Development Delays 

Initial work to create the Federal Marketplace required extensive policy development 

that delayed HHS and CMS in planning for the technical and operational needs of the 

HealthCare.gov website. 

Poor Transition to CMS 

A poor transition of the Federal Marketplace from HHS to CMS early on caused 

inefficiencies that resulted in communication breakdowns and needlessly complex 

implementation. 

Lack of Clear Leadership 

HealthCare.gov lacked clear project leadership to give direction and unity of purpose, 

responsiveness in execution, and a comprehensive view of progress. 

Mismanagement of Key Contract 

CMS mismanaged the key website development contract, with frequent changes, 

problematic technological decisions, and limited oversight of contractor performance.

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH 

January 2013–September 2013 

Compressed Timeline for Technical Build 

CMS continued to change policy and business requirements, which compressed the 

timeframe for completing the website’s technical development.

Resistance to Bad News 

CMS leaders and staff failed to recognize the magnitude of problems, became 

resistant to bad news about the website’s development, and failed to act on warnings 

and address problems. 

Path Dependency 

As problems worsened, CMS staff and contractors became path dependent, 

continuing to follow the same plan and schedule rather than change course as 

circumstances warranted. 

Corrections Weak and Late 

CMS attempted last-minute corrections that were weak and too late to effect change, 

retaining a fixed deadline for launch, despite poor progress.
KEY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO RECOVERY

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace iv

LAUNCH, CORRECTION, & FIRST OPEN ENROLLMENT 

October 2013–March 2014 

Quick Pivot to New Strategy 

CMS and its contractors began correction of website problems immediately following 

launch, making a quick pivot to change their strategy. 

Adoption of Badgeless Culture 

CMS and its contractors adopted a badgeless culture that encouraged full 

collaboration by CMS staff and contractors regardless of employer status and job title, 

fostering innovation, problem solving, and communication among teams. 

Integration of All Functions 

CMS integrated all functions into its organizational structure to align with project 

needs, enhancing CMS and contractor accountability and collaboration. 

Planning for Problems 

CMS planned for problems, establishing redundant (backup) systems in the event of 

further breakdowns, and restructuring its key development contract to ensure better 

performance.

TURNAROUND & SECOND OPEN ENROLLMENT 

April 2014–February 2015 

Ruthless Prioritization 

CMS adopted a policy of ruthless prioritization to reduce planned website 

functionality, focusing resources on the highest priorities. 

Quality Over On-Time Delivery 

CMS prioritized quality over on-time delivery, employing extensive testing to identify 

and fix problems and delaying new website functionality if unready for perfect 

execution. 

Simplifying Processes 

CMS simplified systems and processes to enable closer monitoring of progress, 

increased transparency and accountability, and clearer prioritization. 

Continuous Learning 

CMS adopted continuous learning for policy and technological tasks, balancing project 

plans with system and team capacity, and changing course as needed to improve 

operations. 

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................................i 

KEY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO BREAKDOWN...............................................................................................................iii

KEY CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO RECOVERY ...................................................................................................................iv

BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................................................... 1 

CHRONOLOGY CHAPTERS

Preparation & Development: March 2010–December 2012 

HHS initially housed the marketplace project in a new office that made early gains, but was hindered 

by limited resources and competing expectations ................................................................................................ 4 

Integrating into a large organizational structure at CMS brought new challenges to the Federal 

Marketplace project, primarily caused by unclear project leadership ................................................................... 7 

CMS struggled to provide timely guidance to States, secure future funding for the development of 

HealthCare.gov, and retain key staff for the project ...........................................................................................11

IT contracting for the FFM encountered significant problems, including limited bids, uncertainty in 

funding, and disjointed CMS contract management ...........................................................................................13

Continued insufficient coordination and direction by CMS led to delays in guidance to contractors, 

and set the stage for problems with HealthCare.gov operations ........................................................................15

Key Factors Contributing to Breakdown: Preparation and Development ...........................................................20

Final Countdown to Launch: January 2013–September 2013 

Several entities voiced concerns about the status of HealthCare.gov, but warnings were either not 

fully communicated or not acted upon ...............................................................................................................21

The HealthCare.gov website build was alarmingly behind schedule, with CMS scrambling for “minimal 

functionality” .......................................................................................................................................................24

Last minute attempts to correct and avoid further problems with HealthCare.gov were ad hoc and 

insufficient ...........................................................................................................................................................26

CMS prepared to launch HealthCare.gov on October 1, 2013, as planned, optimistic in spite of 

problems and never seriously considering delay ................................................................................................. 28

Key Factors Contributing to Breakdown: Final Countdown to Launch ................................................................31

Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment: October 2013–March 2014 

The HealthCare.gov launch quickly revealed multiple problems with the website, and initial efforts to 

fix the problems were hampered by lack of coordination ...................................................................................32

After initial difficulties, CMS and contractors worked with outside experts to repair HealthCare.gov, 

instilling changes in the project culture and work processes .............................................................................. 34 

CMS and the expanded technical team improved HealthCare.gov by December 1, 2013, and continued 

improvements through early 2014 ...................................................................................................................... 39 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

The Federal Marketplace project and development of HealthCare.gov came at a substantial cost 

financially and organizationally to CMS ...............................................................................................................42

Key Factors Contributing to Recovery: Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment ........................................45

Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment: April 2014–February 2015 

In April 2014, CMS turned to preparing for the next open enrollment and added functionality, 

sharply prioritizing to limit scope and focus resources ........................................................................................46

Changes made by CMS during preparation for second open enrollment also focused on longer-term 

improvements to the Federal Marketplace and throughout CMS .......................................................................52

Challenges remain for CMS in operating HealthCare.gov, with public scrutiny high and website and 

other automated functions not yet complete ..................................................................................................... 57 

Key Factors Contributing to Recovery: Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment ...............................................60

CALL FOR CONTINUED PROGRESS

OIG calls for CMS to continue applying lessons from the HealthCare.gov recovery in its management 

of the Federal Marketplace and broader organization .......................................................................................61

AGENCY COMMENTS AND OIG RESPONSE .....................................................................................................................66

APPENDIXES

A. List of Key Entities in Implementation and Operation of the Federal Marketplace, 2010–2015 .................... 67 

B. Timeline of Key Events in CMS Implementation of the Federal Marketplace, 2010–2015 ............................. 68 

C. Glossary of Selected Federal Marketplace Terms ...........................................................................................70

D. Comments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, October 7, 2015 .......................................75

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.....................................................................................................................................................77

ENDNOTES ........................................................................................................................................................................78
BACKGROUND

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 1 

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS or the Department) and Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services’ (CMS or the agency) implementation and management of the Federal Marketplace, focused 

primarily on the development and operation of its website, HealthCare.gov. 

PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010.1 The ACA expanded 

access to health insurance coverage by enacting insurance reforms, requiring many businesses to offer health 

insurance coverage, and requiring most individuals to obtain coverage. Generally, those who do not comply must pay 

a penalty.2

 The ACA also required, and provided Federal funding for, the establishment of a health insurance exchange 

(marketplace) in each State that would be operational on or before January 1, 2014.3 For States that elected not to 

establish their own marketplaces, the Federal Government was required to operate a marketplace on behalf of the 

State.4 The marketplaces provide those seeking health insurance a single point of access to view qualified health plan 

(health plan)5 options, determine eligibility for coverage, and purchase insurance coverage. Individuals also use the 

marketplaces to determine eligibility for insurance affordability programs (e.g., Medicaid, premium tax credits, and 

cost-sharing reductions) that lower insurance premiums and costs of care.6

 At the beginning of the third open 

enrollment period, November 1, 2015, the Federal Government operates a marketplace (Federal Marketplace) for 

38 States, including 7 State-partnership marketplaces for which HHS and the State share responsibilities for core 

functions and 4 Federally supported State marketplaces in which States perform most marketplace functions.7

 

Thirteen States (including the District of Columbia) operate their own marketplaces.8

The ACA required the Secretary of HHS to specify an initial open enrollment and annual open enrollment periods each 

subsequent year during which individuals may enroll in a health plan.9

 The first open enrollment period was 6 months 

in duration, lasting October 1, 2013–March 31, 2014.10

 The second open enrollment period was 3 months in duration, 

lasting November 15, 2014–February 15, 2015.11

 Special enrollment periods (SEP) allow consumers who experience 

certain life changes or other circumstances to purchase insurance outside of open enrollment,12 and CMS has several 

times offered SEPs to provide other consumers additional time to purchase plans when situations beyond their control 

limited their ability to select a plan during open enrollment.13

After several challenges to the ACA, the Supreme Court heard two cases about the constitutionality of certain 

provisions of the Act. In June 2012, the Court upheld the mandate that most individuals must have health insurance, 

but ruled unconstitutional the requirement that States expand their Medicaid programs.14 The Court ruled in 

June 2015 that the ACA provides premium tax credits for insurance purchased through all marketplaces, Federal and 

State.15 Several Federal court challenges to the ACA are pending. 

CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES

CMS, an agency within HHS, has had responsibility for managing the marketplace programs since January 2011.16 CMS 

manages more than 85 percent of HHS’s $1.2 trillion budget, primarily for operation of the Medicare and Medicaid 

programs.17 To implement the ACA provisions related to the marketplaces, CMS worked in collaboration with public 

and private entities, including other Federal agencies as required by the ACA,18 State Medicaid agencies, private 

contractors, health insurance issuers (issuers), and not-for-profit organizations. 

CMS has core responsibility for operation of the Federal Marketplace. In this role, CMS must ensure accurate eligibility 

determinations, process enrollments, facilitate Medicaid enrollment for those who qualify, and communicate timely 
BACKGROUND 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 2 

and accurate information to issuers and consumers. CMS also provides support functions for the State marketplaces 

and administers Federal financial assistance and premium stabilization programs related to the marketplaces. See 

Appendix A for a list of the referenced HHS and CMS divisions involved in the Federal Marketplace. 

HEALTHCARE.GOV

HealthCare.gov is the public website for the Federal Marketplace through which individuals can browse health 

insurance plans, enroll in coverage plans, and apply for Federal financial assistance to help cover the premium and 

other costs. The Federal Marketplace links consumers from HealthCare.gov to multiple supporting systems that 

facilitate the enrollment process and payment to issuers. For purposes of this report, key components of

HealthCare.gov and the Federal Marketplace include: 

› Enterprise Identity Management (EIDM) system, which was used during the first and second open 

enrollment periods to enable consumers to create accounts and verify their identities. The EIDM was 

developed to support multiple CMS systems. 

› Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM), the core of the overall Federal Marketplace system, which includes 

three main subcomponents to facilitate various aspects of acquiring health insurance: 

o Eligibility and Enrollment determines consumer eligibility for health plans and Federal financial 

assistance and manages enrollment transactions with issuers, 

o Plan Management coordinates with issuers to determine coverage specifics, and 

o Financial Management tracks effectuated enrollments (wherein the consumer has selected a plan and 

also paid the premium), and manages payments to issuers for Federal financial assistance (premium 

tax credits and cost-sharing reductions) and premium stabilization. 

› Data Services Hub (Hub) routes information requests from the Federal and State marketplaces and Medicaid/ 

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies to other Federal agencies and back, such as to and from 

the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). 

SCOPE

This case study evaluates HHS and CMS implementation and management of the Federal Marketplace, primarily the 

website HealthCare.gov. Our review is limited to the actions of HHS and CMS personnel and divisions and their 

contractors, spanning from passage of the ACA in March 2010 through the end of the Federal Marketplace second 

open enrollment period in February 2015. See Appendix B for a timeline of key implementation dates. 

METHODOLOGY

To evaluate HHS and CMS management of HealthCare.gov, we based our review on analysis of data from three 

sources: 

› Interviews with officials and staff from HHS, CMS, contractors, and other stakeholders: We conducted 

interviews with 86 respondents, individually or in small groups, regarding their roles and involvement during 

the implementation of the Federal Marketplace, the strategy for development, factors that contributed to the 

website problems, and actions taken to address those problems. We present interview data in the report in 

both aggregate analysis and individual quotations. 

o HHS senior leadership at the time of the HealthCare.gov launch—respondents included the Secretary, 

Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretary for Administration, Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources, 

Senior Counselor, Chief Information Officer (CIO), and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 

o CMS senior leadership at the time of the HealthCare.gov launch and after—respondents included the 

Administrator, Principal Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator, Chief of Staff, Chief Operating 
BACKGROUND 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 3 

Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Deputy Administrators for the Center for Consumer 

Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) and Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS). 

o CMS leadership and CMS staff—respondents included Directors and Deputy Directors for the Office of 

Information Services (OIS) and Office of Acquisition and Grants Management (OAGM), Director for the 

Office of Communications (OC), and Deputy Directors for CCIIO. We also interviewed key staff such as 

a Regional Administrator managing the Consortium for Medicare Health Plans Operations, and CMS 

Government Task Leaders who were the technical representatives responsible for monitoring 

HealthCare.gov contractors’ technical progress.

o Contractor representatives—respondents included representatives from Accenture Federal Services, 

LLC (Accenture); CGI Federal Services, Inc. (CGI Federal); Quality Software Services, Inc. (QSSI); and 

Terremark Federal Group, Inc. (Terremark). 

o Other stakeholders—respondents included a small number of others involved in the HealthCare.gov 

project or in a position to observe the project, including navigators hired to assist consumers in 

selecting plans and research organizations studying the ACA. 

› Documents from HHS and CMS: We used records management software to search through approximately 

2.5 million project management documents and correspondence. The documents included presentations, 

memorandums, emails, meeting agendas, status reports, technical requirement documents, and 

documentation exchanged between CMS and other entities, such as contracts and Technical Direction Letters. 

› External documents and witness testimony: We reviewed independent research and analysis about the 

Federal Marketplace and the implementation of large information technology (IT) projects from other 

Government agencies and independent research organizations. We also reviewed written and oral testimony 

to Congress by HHS and CMS staff and other stakeholders regarding HealthCare.gov.

LIMITATIONS

Although we believe the nature and extent of our review provided a sufficient basis for our findings, we note two

potential limitations: (1) we purposively selected respondents at HHS, CMS, contractors, and stakeholders for 

interviews based on our review of HHS and CMS documentation and discussions with experts, but we did not interview 

all persons involved; and (2) CMS provided access to a large number of documents on the basis of search terms and 

parameters provided by OIG. We reviewed documents selectively on the basis of relevance to our objective as 

determined by OIG. 

RELATED OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORTS

This report is one in a series of OIG reports that evaluate the Federal and State marketplaces. OIG found a number of

problems with CMS’s implementation of the Federal Marketplace, including that CMS did not adequately plan for and 

monitor contracts and that CMS could not verify the accuracy of payments to issuers. OIG also identified areas for 

improvement in CMS eligibility verification and information security controls. OIG posts all ACA-related reports on its

website (www.oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/aca/) and continues its oversight of the marketplaces as 

articulated in the OIG Work Plan (http://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/archives/workplan/2015/FY15-WorkPlan.pdf) and the Health Reform Oversight Plan (http://oig.hhs.gov/reports-andpublications/archives/workplan/2015/health-reform-plan-2015.pdf).

STANDARDS

This study was conducted in accordance with the Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation issued by the Council 

of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 
CHRONOLOGY

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 4 

“Marketplace” as a

label for the insurance 

program evolved over time. 

Early implementation used

the term “exchange” or

“HIX” for Health Insurance

Exchange.

The “first” 

HealthCare.gov

HealthCare.gov “Plan

Finder” was an early 

browsing website created 

by HHS in 3 months 

and cost approximately

$17 million.

“The clock was already ticking.” 

–Former CCIIO Official 

CHAPTER 1 

PREPARATION & DEVELOPMENT 

March 2010–December 2012

The ACA’s system for individuals to purchase private health insurance and enroll in Medicaid 

was a topic of heated debate in Congress, States, and the media before and after the law’s

passage. Twenty-six States filed suit against the Federal Government regarding various 

aspects of the ACA within the first year after passage, and in the 6 years since, the U.S. House 

of Representatives has taken more than 60 votes to change or repeal the ACA.19 Those in HHS 

responsible for execution of the program reported that these debates and uncertainties over 

the ACA’s policies had ramifications throughout development and implementation of the 

Federal Marketplace. As is often the case with complex legislation, many regulations and 

other guidance documents were needed to implement the ACA. HHS had significant 

responsibility for implementing marketplace operations in accordance with statutory 

requirements and timeframes. The ACA provided for significant flexibility in implementation, 

for example, leaving States to decide whether they would operate their own marketplaces or

participate in a national, Federally-run marketplace.20

HHS initially housed the marketplace project in a new office that made early gains, 

but was hindered by limited resources and competing expectations 

HHS launched the HealthCare.gov “Plan Finder” website and established a new office to

manage the marketplaces. From the outset, implementing the ACA required HHS to meet 

multiple priorities, including many provisions unrelated to the marketplaces. A former HHS 

official reflected, “There were hundreds of things that needed to be done, and the 

Marketplace was just one.” A number of ACA provisions had early delivery dates for HHS. 

This included the initial HealthCare.gov website, “Plan Finder,” a browsing website to provide 

health plan information to consumers but without the functionality to purchase plans or apply 

for Federal financial assistance. 

The ACA required that HHS establish the browsing website by July 1, 2010.21 A small team of

technical experts from HHS and the White House worked “around the clock” to complete the 

HealthCare.gov Plan Finder website. The website launched in July 2010 with general plan 

information, and was upgraded in December 2010 with functionality for consumers to enter 
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 5 

information about themselves and receive an estimate of their health plan premiums.22 HHS

reported that the website functioned smoothly and received approximately 2 million visitors 

from July 2010 to July 2011.23 HHS and CMS staff later said that the relative ease with which 

HHS built the browsing website may have contributed to underestimation of the resources 

and time required to build the much more complex full HealthCare.gov website planned for 

launch on October 1, 2013. 

HealthCare.gov Plan Finder Homepage, July 1, 2010.

At the same time that HHS was developing the browsing website, it began planning for the 

establishment of the Federal and State marketplaces that would facilitate health plan 

coverage for consumers by January 1, 2014. In April 2010, HHS created the Office of

Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO) to oversee implementation of the ACA 

provisions related to private insurance.24 Meanwhile, HHS continued its broader focus on all

provisions of the law. OCIIO was to serve as a coordination point between the Department, 

issuers, and other Federal (e.g., IRS, SSA) and State partners, and to begin putting into 

operation the way in which individuals would purchase insurance. 

HHS officials indicated that the private 

insurance aspect led HHS to establish OCIIO 

as its own staff division in the Office of the 

Secretary, rather than assign the program 

to CMS, its Medicare and Medicaid 

operating division. HHS staffed OCIIO with

both long-time Federal employees, many 

from CMS, and those with expertise in the private insurance market, such as former officials of

State Departments of Insurance. OCIIO in 2010 had direct hiring authority that allowed 

flexibility to assist HHS in expeditiously filling vacant positions when facing a critical hiring 

need. OCIIO focused largely on developing and obtaining approval for the many regulations 

required to implement private insurance reforms and establish the Federal and State 

marketplaces.25 It also worked with a contractor to create an initial blueprint of critical tasks. 

“The single most important thing 

was the insurance part had to work.”

―Former HHS official
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 6 

According to interview respondents who worked in OCIIO at that time, the focus was on policy 

development and not yet on operational issues, such as development of the full website 

intended for the 2013 launch. 

OCIIO’s chief objectives, according 

to former officials, were to publish 

the regulations that laid out how 

the Federal and State 

marketplaces would work, and to

coordinate the participation of the

partners necessary to make the 

marketplaces work, including 

States, issuers, consumers, other Federal agencies, and private entities.26 Former OCIIO 

officials reported in interviews they were most concerned with ensuring the participation of

issuers, which were needed to submit health plans for purchase on the marketplaces. Officials 

worried that issuers would be reluctant to submit plans due to concern about new 

requirements for coverage, the process for marketplaces to approve plans, and uncertainty 

about establishing premium rates not knowing the size of the population to be covered and 

what health care services this new insurance population required. A former OCIIO official 

later discounted concern over issuer participation, stating, “Of course issuers were going to

participate. It is a huge new market where people are compelled to buy this new product. 

There was money to be made.” Still, at a minimum, OCIIO was tasked with developing a new 

and complex system that required the collaboration of multiple entities, each with its own 

incentives and requirements. 

HHS officials had competing predictions for whether marketplaces would be State or Federal. 

Both HHS and States faced uncertainty regarding whether States would build their own 

marketplaces or default to the Federal Marketplace. Interviews with former OCIIO officials 

indicated that the conventional wisdom among leadership at HHS in 2010 was that most 

States would choose to establish their own marketplace, with as few as eight States 

participating in the Federal Marketplace. They reasoned that State leaders would want 

autonomy and to avoid participating in a large Federal program, and that States would be 

enticed by Federal Establishment Grants that provided money to build and operate State 

marketplaces. To build their own marketplace, States had to complete a considerable number 

of tasks, including passing State legislation in some cases. Interviews and documentation 

indicated that some in HHS focused on encouraging States to build their own systems, while 

others in HHS predicted that it would be too difficult for State Governments to build individual 

marketplaces, politically and operationally, so they would default to the Federal Marketplace. 

HHS officials recalled an expected sense of failure among some States that opted to join the 

Federal Marketplace because they “did not think they could pull it off, were too small, and 

didn’t have the issuer base to finance the user fees.” In other cases, State legislatures did not 

authorize the creation of a State marketplace. One HHS official explained that some States 

“did not want to touch Obamacare.” (HHS delayed the deadline for States to make this 

We didn’t want 

people to walk into the 

store and not have 

anything on the shelf. 

–Former HHS official 

“

“Of course issuers were going to participate. 

It is a huge new market where people are 

compelled to buy this new product. There 

was money to be made.” ―Former OCIIO official
OEI‐06‐14‐00350            HealthCare.gov:  Case        Study of CMS Management        of the Federal Marketplace           7

Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

decision several times, and it was ultimately early 2013 before it was clear which States would

join the Federal Marketplace for the first open enrollment period.27)

HHS determined that OCIIO was ill‐equipped to manage such a large and complex project.  

Although OCIIO provided HHS with a program and staff focused on the marketplaces, it had a

relatively small number of staff and lacked the infrastructure and budget of an operating

division.  OCIIO did not possess basic in‐house operations, including contracting and

technological support.  It also had few technical staff, rendering it ill‐equipped, in HHS’s view,

to manage such a large project.  CMS’s decades‐long experience administering large

Government programs made it the frontrunner to replace OCIIO in managing the

marketplaces.  CMS had a large infrastructure from which the Federal Marketplace program

could benefit, including technical and operational staff.  Some in favor of assigning the Federal

Marketplace operations to CMS wanted to employ existing expertise and infrastructure rather

than build the Federal Marketplace program from scratch, with one CMS official arguing that

the Medicare program had “much of the same operational DNA” that would be needed for

the Federal Marketplace.  Other officials in HHS argued against the move to CMS, contending

that identification with CMS (as the operator of Medicare and Medicaid) might cloud the

program’s objective as a market for private insurance.

In January 2011, 10 months after OCIIO’s inception, HHS transitioned the marketplace project

from OCIIO in the Office of the Secretary to CMS.28  Those involved in the decision reported

that it was driven largely by the idea that CMS’s available funding and substantial existing

infrastructure could help support marketplace functions.  The ACA provided a $1 billion Health

Insurance Reform Implementation Fund to help pay for the administrative costs of

implementation of ACA, but HHS ceded over half of these funds to the IRS and other

Departments to support ACA implementation.29  Given that the Congressional Budget Office

predicted a $5‐10 billion cost of implementation to HHS over the 2010–2019 period, HHS

faced a substantial funding shortfall.30  In addition, several HHS officials perceived that

embedding the project in CMS may have helped those responsible for developing the

marketplaces to avoid distractions from ongoing debate about the ACA.  They believed that

incorporating the project into the larger organization might help to avoid line‐item scrutiny of

its budget execution by critics.

Integrating into a large organizational structure at CMS brought new challenges to

the Federal Marketplace project, primarily caused by unclear project leadership

The move to CMS separated marketplace staff into different divisions.  The transition to CMS

after 10 months in the Office of the Secretary under OCIIO provided the expected benefits of

greater resources, but also brought drawbacks.  Most OCIIO staff and leadership previously

working together were split into two CMS divisions:  (1) policy and business operations

management staff went to the newly created CMS CCIIO, responsible for establishing Federal

and State marketplace policies; and (2) technical and contract management staff went to the

existing OIS, which coordinated the technical aspects of the HealthCare.gov website

development (website build).  Other Federal Marketplace responsibilities were folded into

existing CMS divisions.  Most notably, the CMS Office of Acquisition and Grants Management
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 8 

(OAGM) was responsible for managing the Federal Marketplace contracts, the Office of 

Financial Management (OFM) was responsible for the Federal Marketplace budget, and the

Office of Communications (OC) was responsible for interaction with consumers. CMS’s Center 

for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) also played an important role in coordinating the

application form that marketplace consumers would use to apply for assistance. The

application would enable consumers to apply for: coverage in a health plan, advance 

payments of the premium tax credit, cost-sharing reductions, Medicaid, and CHIP. Given the

shared application form, CMCS had much to gain from a successful Federal Marketplace that 

effectively facilitated Medicaid enrollment. 

In addition, key Federal Marketplace staff were located in offices apart from either CMS or 

HHS headquarters, which contributed to communication problems and a sense of 

separateness. The office space for both CCIIO and OIS staff assigned to the marketplaces 

remained in the existing OCIIO space in Bethesda, MD, a 45-minute drive from the main CMS 

campus in Baltimore, MD. The decision to stay in the existing location rather than move to 

CMS’s main campus was attributed to the desire to retain former private sector employees 

who lived in the greater Washington, DC, area and were unwilling to travel to suburban 

Baltimore. Some CMS staff reported that the separate location in Bethesda may have 

exacerbated problems communicating with other CMS divisions, particularly in the case of OIS 

technical development staff located in Bethesda but reporting to the larger OIS organization in 

Baltimore. The use of multiple locations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area was not 

new for CMS, with its agency headquarters in several separate buildings in Baltimore and 

senior officials in Washington, DC (in addition to substantial staff in 10 regional offices 

throughout the country). Many rooms were equipped for video conferencing, and staff had 

access to daily shuttles between locations and remote access to computer systems. Still, even 

with these technical capabilities, the Bethesda location for CCIIO, particularly in the critical 

first year following integration, appears to have contributed to a sense of separateness 

between the new program and the larger agency.

More important than integration of CCIIO staff within the larger CMS organization was a lack

of unity among those responsible for pieces of the marketplace development. Marketplace

staff in CCIIO, OIS and the other divisions had different operating procedures, reporting

structures, and lines of authority. Project management documents indicated efforts

throughout 2011–2012 to bridge these gaps, such as regular meetings between project

leaders in the various divisions. These documents also revealed major differences in

understanding between the divisions regarding shared responsibilities and assessments of

project progress. In interviews, staff in CCIIO and OIS gave very different descriptions of each

other’s tasks and in some cases could not identify the staff positions or subdivisions

responsible for critical project tasks. This lack of unity and dispersion of responsibility had

serious consequences, resulting in difficulty tracking progress and enforcing accountability.

There were two 

different conversations 

going on and they were 

not married up.

–CMS official

“
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 9 

Merging a “start-up” organization with a large bureaucracy created tension. The integration 

of the Federal Marketplace project into CMS provided a broader infrastructure for the 

program, but some marketplace officials reported that they struggled to fit into the CMS 

organizational culture. One explanation offered by several officials was that the marketplace 

program and development of the HealthCare.gov website required a “start-up” mentality that 

encouraged creativity and innovation to support something new and unique. Yet the CMS 

organizational culture was that of a more traditional government bureaucracy, based on rigid 

management methods and an established hierarchy. In their view, those working on the 

marketplace program had to straddle the two cultures and this exacerbated difficulties 

meeting the already-challenging schedule and 

tasks. As one long-time CMS policy official serving 

in CCIIO reflected, “We were never fully accepted 

by CMS as a whole. Every new program feels that 

way, but this was a special case. The objective was 

too different and not well understood [at CMS].” 

Transition to CMS heightened differences regarding program mission. The uncertainty about 

whether States would choose to operate their own marketplaces or join the Federal 

Marketplace continued after the Federal Marketplace project was transitioned into CMS. The 

lines in this debate were drawn largely between long-time CMS staff who were in favor of 

building a large-capacity Federal Marketplace, and newer staff with State or private insurance 

experience who were in favor of encouraging States to establish their own systems. Given 

that the marketplace program had already used almost a year of scarce implementation time, 

resolving these conceptual differences took on a new urgency. CMS had yet to develop and 

publish a large number of pressing regulations, some of which were tri-departmental 

regulations with the Departments of Labor and Treasury and therefore potentially faced more 

hurdles in coordination.31

CMS had also not begun planning in earnest for how the Federal Marketplace would operate. 

The debate about the role and need for State and Federal marketplaces played out in issues 

across the policy spectrum, affecting decisions about health plan requirements, benefits, and 

financial assistance. Some of these differences involved ACA provisions about consumer 

protections that were not specific to the Federal Marketplace and HealthCare.gov, such as 

premium rate reviews and essential health benefits.32 Several CMS officials indicated that 

disagreement about these issues complicated decisionmaking about the Federal Marketplace, 

and may have contributed to delays in decisionmaking. One CCIIO official from a State 

background complained that these ancillary issues caused CMS staff sometimes to lose focus 

on the key Federal Marketplace mission to facilitate buying and selling of insurance: “We’ve 

built up the marketplace to be something grander than it is. It’s a store.”

Another point of contention between some long-time CMS staff and newer employees was

that CMS staff tended to rely on past experience implementing Government health care 

programs, such as the launch of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program in 2006. The 

Part D program was a large project that required collaboration with private issuers to create 

competition among plans, so it is reasonable that the launch of the Part D program provided 

“We were never fully 

accepted by CMS as a whole.” 

―CCIIO official
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 10

Who was in charge?

When asked who led the

Federal Marketplace

project, several staff

named positions that were

unfilled. When asked

what division led the

project, staff named four 

different CMS divisions.

CMS staff with relevant expertise and experience. Also, the Part D program had problems at

launch that required quick correction.33 Still, creation of the Federal Marketplace was a larger 

and more complex project. Further, prior programs, such as Part D and Medicare Advantage, 

were built for the existing Medicare population, rather than a new market. Comparisons of 

the marketplaces to existing CMS programs were perceived by those new to CMS as

demonstrating a lack of understanding about the larger scope and complexity of the Federal 

Marketplace program. As one CMS official reflected, “I learned to never bring up the Part D 

example.”

Lack of leadership caused problems integrating Federal Marketplace staff into CMS. CMS 

interviews and documentation indicated that the chief cause of organizational problems was

CMS’s failure to complete two critical tasks: assign clear and dedicated leadership for the 

marketplace program, and fully assess project needs to determine how to best establish the 

marketplace program in CMS. In CMS, there was no single official early on, below the CMS 

Administrator, responsible for the Federal Marketplace, and the officials responsible for 

different pieces often reported to the CMS Administrator through several layers of 

management. Throughout this early development period and into implementation and the 

first open enrollment period, CMS senior leadership never declared a clear “business owner”

with overall responsibility for the Federal Marketplace. This issue of leadership was more 

straightforward for OCIIO as a small organization: the Director of OCIIO reported directly to

the HHS Secretary, whereas in CMS those active in planning for the marketplaces were spread 

throughout the organization and reported through the CMS Administrator. 

The marketplace program was a complex task for an organization that was already responsible 

for implementation of many other ACA provisions and managing Medicare and Medicaid, 

programs with combined expenditures exceeding $900 billion in fiscal year 2014—about 

one-third of total U.S. health care expenditures.34 Adding to this, the CMS Administrator and 

the second-in-command Principal Deputy Administrator were both new to CMS, joining CMS 

in 2010 and 2011, respectively, in the first year of CMS’s enormous tasks to implement the 

ACA.35 To undertake the project without assigning leadership was to underestimate the

project’s difficulty. Lack of clear and effective leadership and thoughtful consideration of

project and organizational structure characterized the preparation and development period,

and had long-term negative consequences for the program’s success. This insight was not 

only true in retrospect. In late 2011, the White House CIO expressed concern to HHS and CMS 

officials that leadership for the program was fragmented and recommended appointing a

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to oversee the project.
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 11

CMS was convinced 

that [we] had to build the 

perfect policy and did not 

leave time to implement. 

–CMS Administrator 

“ 

CMS struggled to provide timely guidance to States, secure future funding for the 

development of HealthCare.gov, and retain key staff for the project 

Lack of clear direction and continued uncertainty delayed guidance to States. Several State 

officials criticized CMS for being slow to provide regulations and guidance for developing State 

marketplaces. The ACA required CMS to provide criteria for State marketplaces and required 

States to demonstrate their readiness to operate on the basis of these criteria.36 Pieces of the 

regulations and guidance were due throughout 2011 and 2012, but most were delayed 

several times. In October 2012, a State Governor wrote to the Secretary explaining that the 

delay in guidelines contributed to the State deciding to join the Federal Marketplace. “There 

is simply not enough valid information to make an informed choice for such an important 

decision.”37 Around the same time, a State insurance commissioner testified before Congress 

that “the lack of detailed information from HHS has put [us] in a very difficult position.”38 In 

fact, CMS did not finalize its regulations for State marketplace oversight and program integrity 

standards until October 2013,

39 10 months after the State deadline to submit plans for a State 

marketplace.40 

CMS officials indicated that the delays were caused, in part, by efforts to provide greater 

flexibility for States to establish their own marketplaces or to use the Federal Marketplace in a 

way that suited their needs. According to CMS staff, when States objected to a policy, CMS 

sometimes revised the policy to provide additional flexibility. This in turn required changes to 

the “business requirements” (provisions that articulate to developers the processes the 

website would support), and potential delays in software development. CMS officials did not 

have a good sense of which or the number of States that would build their own marketplaces, 

causing consternation about scale, budget, and coordination with States. As observed by an 

HHS official, “Whether 1 State or 50, we knew we had to build the functionality, but the scale 

shifted many times by an order of magnitude and made it more complicated.” 

Political context and funding uncertainties also affected CMS’s development of the Federal 

Marketplace program. CMS officials and staff reported that they felt the political importance 

of the ACA throughout marketplace implementation. CMS officials described White House 

staff as being substantially involved throughout policy development and as the clear policy 

leads. A Deputy Director at CCIIO reported, “There was constant contact with the White 

House. The White House was in charge.” It appears that for high-level CMS officials the 

interaction was expected, but lower-level CMS staff were unaccustomed to working so closely 

with White House staff and the lack of clarity and experience around this process led to some 

confusion and delays. Specifically, some CMS staff expressed frustration that the close 

involvement of White House staff and HHS officials resulted in a complex process for making 

decisions and caused delays in completing policy work. They were particularly frustrated 

when they perceived heavy involvement about what they believed were relatively small 

issues. For example, emails between HHS and CMS staff revealed CMS staff frustration with 

the discussion around changing the term “nationwide health insurance” to “health insurance” 

in official documents. Others defended the high level of involvement given the importance of 

the ACA to the White House. The CMS Administrator also reported perceiving the White 

House involvement as collaborative and helpful, particularly in making policy decisions. Other 
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 12

high-level CMS officials agreed, indicating that most understood the strong interest in details. 

As one CMS official noted, “This was the President’s achievement. It raised the stakes. It 

meant that people at my level had a lot of bosses.” 

Others at CMS identified occasional challenges in meeting White House and HHS direction 

during the development and implementation of the Federal Marketplace. For example, 

according to some CMS policy officials, White House staff and HHS officials expressed concern 

that planning and educational documents for key stakeholders might be overly complex and 

could discourage participation. CMS, CCIIO, and OIS staff reported that a White House policy 

official requested that some policy and technical documents be simplified or not used. As an 

example of these requests, CCIIO produced a Federal Marketplace “concept of operations”

document in 2011 to educate States and issuers about Federal Marketplace operations that 

was perceived by CCIIO staff as critical to these stakeholders understanding the planned 

operations, but the document was not distributed as planned. 

Another complication stemming in part from the political contention surrounding the ACA was 

lack of certainty regarding future Federal Marketplace funding. Although initial resources 

were improved with the move to CMS, it was unknown to HHS and CMS officials how much 

funding Congress would provide for development in future budgets. CMS officials reported 

that this uncertainty about future funding for implementing the Federal Marketplace and 

other ACA programs made decisionmaking more difficult, particularly determining how to 

prioritize different aspects of the website build and provide overall project direction. CMS 

officials also reported that this uncertainty delayed establishing contracts and moving forward 

with the technical build. As one CMS contracting official explained, “I cannot put [a contract] 

on the street without [funding]. . . . We didn’t know when we were going to get [funding] or 

what we can use it for.” HHS officials expected user fees to make Federal Marketplace largely 

self-sustaining by the end of 2015, but ensuring that funding was available for the build was 

cause for concern. One HHS official reported that CMS completed a budget in mid-2012 that 

showed a sizeable gap between the amount of money forecasted to complete the technical 

build and the amount available for use. 

CMS experienced high turnover in Marketplace staff. The Federal Marketplace program 

experienced significant staff turnover after the project moved to CMS in 2011, particularly in 

CCIIO management positions. Officials in Director- and Deputy-level positions in CCIIO in 

2011–2015 often had a tenure of less than 1 year. One Director-level position was filled by 

seven different people during our study period. As many as two-thirds (30 of 45) of the 

Director- and Deputy-level positions were vacant at some point during our study period, many 

for an extended time. These vacancies were filled by staff who were temporarily moved from 

other parts of CMS to serve in an “acting” capacity. In many instances, individuals in these 

temporary slots divided their attention with a second, or even third, leadership position. One 

important position responsible for establishing premium rates was vacant for a total of 

24 months spanning 2011–2013. CMS also experienced a high turnover of staff responsible 

for managing and overseeing key Federal Marketplace contracts.41 CMS staff reported that 

the high turnover and lack of permanent managers in key positions hindered program and 

organizational knowledge while making building relationships among management and staff 

Every time I turned

around, I had to brief new

people. This project is so

complex you have to be

immersed. –CMS official

“
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 13

92%

of contracts

for the Federal 

Marketplace were 

awarded under previously 

established contracts.

more difficult. CMS officials later attributed the high turnover to a number of factors, 

including that former State and private sector employees intended to serve for only a short 

time to participate in the launch and that the workload was considered by some to be 

unsustainable. A former CCIIO director stated that “CCIIO was a rewarding place to work but 

was not sustainable based on the hours needed and timeframes to get the job done.” 

IT contracting for the FFM encountered significant problems, including limited bids, 

uncertainty in funding, and disjointed CMS contract management 

CMS selection of contractors and type of contracts limited the number of bids. As CMS worked 

to finalize policies and standards for the marketplaces through 2012, it awarded key 

IT contracts for the Federal Marketplace largely on the basis of existing contracts. Prior OIG 

work on Federal Marketplace contracts found that of the 60 Federal Marketplace contracts, 

55 were awarded under previously established contracts.42 CMS contracted the core pieces 

for the FFM and Hub in 2011, and the EIDM in 2012, using Indefinite Delivery Indefinite 

Quantity (IDIQ) contracts. Contracting through an IDIQ is generally more streamlined and 

faster than the processes for other types of contracts because CMS can choose from 

pre-qualified companies that are familiar with CMS’s systems and procedures without having 

to follow all Government acquisition regulations, such as completing acquisition plans.43 CMS 

hired CGI Federal to build the core of the overall Federal Marketplace system, the FFM, which 

consisted of three main subcomponents: eligibility and enrollment, plan management, and 

financial management subcomponents. CGI Federal’s responsibility also included developing 

the website interface (functions that support consumer interaction) and online application for 

consumers. CMS also hired QSSI to build the Hub and the EIDM. The Hub enabled the Federal 

Marketplace to check application information such as income and citizenship, and the EIDM 

provided identity management services that enabled consumers to create accounts and verify 

their identities. The EIDM was built for account-creation functions in multiple CMS programs, 

including Medicare. 

Use of the IDIQ contracts limited the number of companies allowed to submit proposals to the 

16 companies previously awarded an IDIQ contract, but uncertainty surrounding the ACA may 

also have limited contractor interest in the project.44 One CMS official later reflected that 

uncertainty about ACA requirements and funding may have further reduced the field of 

companies willing to vie for the contracts: “We had problems getting people to bid on 

contracts without assurances that the law would continue.” Ultimately, only four contractors 

submitted proposals for the FFM build, and only that of CGI Federal was deemed technically 

acceptable.45

CMS did not use an acquisition strategy to develop contracts and select contractors. In 

addition to the limited number of companies under consideration, the CMS process for 

establishing these key contracts included three factors that may have further hindered 

contractor selection and later results. First, as OIG previously reported, CMS did not develop 

an acquisition strategy for Federal Marketplace contracts, nor did it perform a thorough 

review of contractor past performance beyond the basic requirement to consider past 

performance on prior task orders awarded under the IDIQ.46 An acquisition strategy is an 
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 14

overall plan for satisfying the project mission in the most effective, economical, and timely 

manner.47 Having an acquisition strategy would have provided a framework for CMS to 

precisely assess project needs and make a systematic assessment of the contractors’ ability to 

meet those needs. Not developing such a strategy likely limited CMS’s ability to fully and 

systematically assess proposals. Second, CMS chose to structure the FFM contract with CGI 

Federal as “cost-plus-fixed-fee.” OIG work from January 2015 reported that this type of

contract pays the contractor a prenegotiated award fee amount, requiring the contractor to 

bill as it incurs additional labor and material expenses.48 A cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is 

typically selected when the tasks are so uncertain that accepting a contract on the basis of an 

end product would pose undue risks for contractors. The drawback is that it provides the 

contractor with less incentive to control costs and provide high quality products.49 Third, CMS 

did not define important aspects of the Federal Marketplace functionality in its original 

statements of work to some contractors. For example, CGI Federal reported that their 

statement of work for the FFM contract . . .“contained very broadly defined general technical 

requirements, task order management expectations, 

and work activities.” Officials and staff from both CMS 

and CGI Federal indicated that this lack of specificity 

created misperceptions about CGI Federal’s 

responsibilities, resulting in delays and additional work. 

Unclear division of staff responsibilities led to disjointed contract management by CMS. In

addition to the barriers presented by contract selection practices, confusion over the roles of

contract managers hampered contract management. Staff within OIS’s Consumer Information 

and Insurance Systems Group (CIISG) in CMS was responsible for managing the technical 

aspects of the contracts to ensure they met specifications; most importantly, the Government 

Task Leaders (GTL) within CIISG monitored contract progress and contractors’ deliverables.50 

At the same time, CMS contracting officers (CO) in OAGM were responsible for authorizing, 

administering, and terminating CMS contracts.51 COs appoint Contracting Officer’s

Representatives (COR) to assist in the technical monitoring of a contract.52 The CO is the only 

CMS official authorized to make modifications to the contract.53 Contractors reported that 

they had difficulty determining where GTL responsibilities left off and the CO or COR picked 

up, and they received “inconsistent direction” when asking the same question of the GTL, CO, 

or COR. 

Such poor coordination between the GTLs and the contracting office also led to key staff 

discussing changes with contractors outside of formal channels, causing tension between CMS 

offices and lack of clarity to contractors. Previous OIG work determined that CIISG and OAGM 

did not adequately maintain contracting records or always monitor contractor performance.54 

Part of the problem was that the CO did not always designate and authorize the COR in 

writing, and did not always document the specific duties and responsibilities assigned for each 

contract. Regarding these challenges, the CMS Deputy CIO wrote, “This is an epidemic of

anemic management and leadership and it is much worse in our case because of the relative 

book of work that needs to be accomplished.”

“October 2013 seemed a 

long way off.” ―CMS official 
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 15

Continued insufficient coordination and direction by CMS led to delays in guidance 

to contractors, and set the stage for problems with HealthCare.gov operations 

Solidifying business requirements and technical specifications was slow and involved much 

iteration. Although the contractors had begun the website technical build, CMS was still 

making key regulatory and policy decisions and in many cases had not finalized the business 

requirements and the technical specifications needed to develop the software. Writing the 

business requirements is an iterative process, with policy experts and technical staff refining 

the technical specifications to meet the functional 

“We had an overall vision for 

functionality, but we were not sure 

how to get there.” ―CMS technical staff

needs. In December 2011, a CMS technical 

official expressed frustration over the lack 

of a single leader to make decisions and 

sign off on business requirements, 

indicating that the lack of leadership 

resulted in mid-level staff and managers 

having difficulty coordinating and lacking 

authority to make decisions. 

For the Federal Marketplace, the back-and-forth (between CMS policy and technical staff and 

CMS and contractors) was substantial because CMS was still making regulatory and policy 

decisions. Contractors reported that they immediately identified the lack of business 

requirements as a problem and that the extent of iteration was unusual. This likely reflects 

CMS’s lack of clarity in defining key marketplace functions, which traces back to conflicting 

statutory interpretation and debates about policy choices. In addition, the pending Supreme 

Court case regarding whether individuals would be mandated to purchase health insurance 

created further uncertainty, given its potential to alter implementation of the ACA.55 One 

contractor noted that continued legal uncertainties surrounding the ACA also slowed 

progress. For example, in the contractor’s view, “regulations slowed to a trickle” while waiting 

for the ruling. 

Supreme Court Upholds This lack of clarity forecasted problems to come. A CCIIO official sent the following email in

Health Care Law, 5-4

–The New York Times, 

06/28/2012

late 2011 to officials in CCIIO and OIS: “I am growing increasingly worried that our 

[marketplace] work is off track. We have not been effective in communicating the importance 

of finalizing policy timely so that operational decisions can be made and processes built.” 

Several CMS staff reported that they believed that stronger CMS leadership could have 

prevented some problems by mandating that no additional changes to business requirements 

be made at a certain point. CMS technical staff were often caught in the middle between 

policymakers and contractors, moving forward on the basis of assumptions but without a clear 

plan. By the time the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling confirmed the legality of the individual 

mandate, CMS had already lost critical months toward focused development of the Federal 

Marketplace and HealthCare.gov. 

When they started 

the build, the requirements 

they knew were in the 

middle. Things at the 

beginning, such as the 

application, were still being 

decided and were not 

solved until very late in the 

process. –CMS contractor staff

“
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 16

“Agile” is a method of 

software development that 

breaks larger tasks into 

smaller increments that are 

then completed and tested.

The selected method of software development made it easier for policymakers to seek frequent 

and late changes. In its contract proposal to build the FFM, CGI Federal indicated its intent to 

use the “agile” method of software development, which separates development of pieces of 

the build such that developers can begin on some components while business requirements 

for other components are still being finalized. This method is commonly used when some 

pieces are not well-understood at the outset. An advantage of agile development is that each 

increment, often completed in two-week “sprints,” results in a functioning product that can 

be tested, so that the business owners (in this case, CMS staff) responsible for a particular 

process can assess whether the software meets the project’s needs and adjust business 

requirements accordingly. This ability to adjust, however, enabled policymakers to frequently 

change business requirements and technical specifications on an ongoing basis. Changes 

made through the agile development process must still be properly considered, documented, 

and communicated. Managers at CGI Federal reported in interviews that the frequency of 

CMS’s requests for change resulted in too much change too late in the process, contributing 

to delays. For example, CGI Federal managers reported that CMS did not define business 

requirements at the beginning of each sprint and often made changes throughout the sprint, 

which inhibited the agile method and resulted in incomplete development. An agile method 

also allows for pieces of the build to be completed out of order, but this also caused problems 

for the FFM in that some earlier pieces that were still undecided affected the build of

subsequent components. 

Key technological choices and poor execution also inhibited the website build. A number of 

technological decisions hampered development, including selecting a nontraditional 

technology that did not align with the expertise available. CGI Federal indicated in its final 

FFM contract proposal that it would use a combination of two types of “database platforms” 

(the digital structure upon which the website is built): a traditional “relational” platform such 

as Oracle that uses tables to store data; and a nontraditional “NoSQL” platform that uses 

non-tabular documents to store data. Given that each type has different benefits, CMS 

indicated in its evaluation of CGI Federal’s contract proposal that use of both Oracle and 

NoSQL databases was a strength. The key benefit of the traditional relational platform is its 

wide use, with most developers experienced in Oracle. The key benefit of the nontraditional 

NoSQL platform is its potentially greater capability, in that it can allow more data to be 

transferred at a time and can be easily expanded to include more data or users. However, 

NoSQL platforms were used less frequently and fewer developers had experience building on 

and maintaining them. 

Although CGI Federal’s final contract proposal, accepted by CMS, indicated partial use of a 

NoSQL platform, it did not specify the brand of platform it would use—over 100 vendors 

provide NoSQL platforms. In November and December 2011, CGI Federal met with one of the 

oldest NoSQL vendors, MarkLogic, to better understand the risks and benefits of MarkLogic’s

platform. Following these meetings, CGI Federal managers expressed concern to CMS about 

using MarkLogic’s platform. Interviews and documentation indicated that few at CGI Federal 

and CMS had development experience with the platform. In a presentation to CMS technical 

managers in January 2012, CGI Federal indicated that its lack of experience with MarkLogic’s 
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 17

platform could affect the timely development of the FFM. CGI Federal reported to CMS that it

would be unable to fully replace staff expertise on traditional databases with equivalent 

expertise with MarkLogic’s NoSQL platform and recommended that CMS develop a 

contingency plan. 

Despite CGI Federal’s reluctance to use the platform, CMS notified CGI Federal of the 

selection of MarkLogic in a January 2012 Technical Direction Letter (TDL). A TDL is used to 

clarify or give specific direction to the contractor within the scope of the statement of work 

and cannot alter the contract cost. The TDL directed CGI Federal to use MarkLogic’s platform 

and to obtain staffing support from MarkLogic to help implement the change. In a February 

2012 presentation to CMS, CGI Federal reiterated its concerns about the use of the platform. 

CGI Federal managers contended later 

that use of a TDL demonstrated that 

CMS did not recognize the importance 

of the platform choice, and use of a 

more formal Contract Change Order 

would have allowed both parties to 

fully vet the decision and possible 

consequences. A Contract Change 

Order directs the contractor to make a 

change that may increase the contract cost, change the terms of the contract (e.g., extend the 

length of the contract), or be outside the existing scope of the statement of work. CGI Federal 

hired additional staff trained in the platform and subcontracted with MarkLogic for technical 

assistance, but staff from both CMS and MarkLogic reported that CGI Federal never retained 

the number of experts needed to configure and integrate the MarkLogic technology. 

Both CMS and CGI Federal staff reported that use of MarkLogic’s platform caused 

development problems throughout the remainder of the FFM build. Although QSSI used the 

platform for development of the Hub, CMS and QSSI did not report the same problems as CGI 

Federal had using the platform to develop the FFM. CMS documentation indicated that QSSI 

hired an adequate number of additional staff from MarkLogic to work on the Hub 

development and operations, as CMS had directed CGI Federal to do in the TDL. 

Another technical decision with the website build may have compounded problems with the 

platform. CGI Federal included in its final contract proposal for the FFM the use of 

automatically generated software code called Model-Driven Architecture (MDA), typically 

used in conjunction with developer-written code to save time and reduce human error. 

According to a CMS official, CGI Federal was committed to this technique and referred to MDA 

as their “bread and butter.” Although CMS approved the use of MDA in the contracting 

process, the CMS GTL responsible for monitoring the technical progress of CGI Federal’s 

contract later reported that it was one of the biggest culprits in the coding problems. The GTL 

explained that CGI Federal used MDA for perhaps too much of the build (estimated at 

60-70 percent), and did not build the MDA code effectively or coordinate it properly with 

developer-written code. The GTL also came to believe that use of MDA created additional 

“From a design, development, and 

integration standpoint, MarkLogic is 

vastly different from Oracle [the prior 

relational platform].” 

―CGI Federal presentation
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 18

 

If we had the 

requirements sooner, we 

would had discovered the 

problems sooner. The flux 

in the requirements 

allowed the developers to 

hide, to not come clean. 

–CMS technical staff 

“ 

problems in the “last mile” of development because it was difficult to modify when late 

changes were needed. 

Poor CMS management of changes to the website build created delays and confusion. Each 

development team maintained detailed schedules to manage system development, which 

were summarized into an integrated master schedule to track development of all Federal 

Marketplace systems. The integrated master schedule was maintained by CIISG, which served 

as the CMS IT project management office for the Federal Marketplace. CMS required that 

CMS staff and contractors working on the website submit changes in business requirements 

or technical specifications for approval by a Change Control Board if the change could alter 

the project cost, scope, or schedule. The Change Control Board was mostly comprised of 

representatives from OIS, CCIIO, OC, and CMCS who were to make these decisions and log 

changes in a central repository accessible to both CMS and contractors. CMS’s central 

repository stored a variety of information about the Federal Marketplace project, including 

not only business requirements and technical specifications, but also archived software code, 

infrastructure descriptions, testing results, and past defects that were identified and 

resolved.56 Part of the purpose of the central repository was to enable CMS staff managing 

contracts to analyze and compare technical specifications to ensure that the technical build 

met business requirements. 

However, the Change Control Board and central repository processes were not effectively 

managed, leading to delays and confusion about tasks and progress. In interviews, CMS staff 

said that difficulty tracking and responding to revisions to the business requirements may 

have concealed problems with production and schedule. First, project documentation and 

email correspondence revealed that CMS’s Change Control Board frequently cancelled 

decision meetings and did not promptly address change requests. Second, when changes 

were approved, contractors were not always informed immediately, resulting in further 

delays. Third, CMS and contractors did not always log approved changes in the central 

repository, as required. Fourth, CMS staff did not appear routinely to review documents in 

the repository to identify problems, as intended by CMS. Email correspondence indicated that 

by mid-2013 there were several thousand documents in the central repository, and CMS staff 

raised concerns that the documents were not well organized and there was no evidence of 

review by the Change Control Board. This failure to approve changes promptly and track 

changes in the repository also inhibited the “agile” development process that was used to 

build the FFM. As part of the Change Control Board process, developers were required to 

submit changes before they could begin the next sprint, so delays in the board approval 

process delayed the daily work of the software build. 

Additionally, CMS staff and contractors sometimes circumvented the Change Control Board 

process, making changes without board approval or the knowledge of affected CMS staff and 

contractors. Between March and December 2012, CMS staff not authorized to modify the 

contract added numerous work items to CGI Federal’s contract.57 The CO and initial COR 

responsible for CGI Federal’s contract were unaware of the additional items added to the 

contract until a newly assigned COR discovered the contract overrun, referred to as an 

“unauthorized commitment,” which violates the Federal Acquisition Regulation.58 However, 
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 19

an unauthorized commitment may later be approved under certain circumstances.59 In this 

instance, CMS was able to modify CGI Federal’s contract to fund the unauthorized changes, 

but bypassing the Board created confusion among stakeholders about which changes were 

implemented. 

According to both CGI Federal and CMS staff, this continued alteration of business 

requirements through 2012 and into 2013 resulted in significant delays in website 

development. Additionally, CMS was still making policy decisions late in development that 

changed technical specifications and created additional work. One example was CMS OC’s 

decision to change the website interface long after CGI Federal had begun development. 

Another late policy decision that changed the website build was the determination of whether 

only one member or all family members needed identity verification. 

CGI Federal advised CMS staff numerous times in 

weekly status reports beginning in February 2012 

that delays in finalizing business requirements 

were affecting the development timeline, yet the 

changes continued. CGI Federal managers 

indicated in interviews that they now believe they 

should have alerted the CMS Administrator 

directly regarding the depth of the problems and 

spoken more candidly and earlier to other CMS officials. A CGI Federal official stated, “We 

should have been more emphatic in warning CMS of the risks of launching.” CGI Federal 

managers reflect now that they did not do so primarily in order to follow the standard “chain 

of command” in reporting problems to CMS.

“We should have been more 

emphatic in warning CMS of 

the risks of launching.”

―CGI Federal official
Preparation & Development | March 2010–December 2012 

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 20

KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO BREAKDOWN

› POLICY DEVELOPMENT DELAYS

Implementing the Federal Marketplace required substantial policy development and decisionmaking to inform 

technical planning and implementation of the website. This included not only writing regulations to govern the 

marketplaces, but also establishing partnerships with other entities involved in implementation, such as other 

departments, States, and issuers. This policy work was made more difficult and protracted by a lack of 

certainty regarding the mission, scope, and funding for the Federal Marketplace and website, which was 

caused in part by varying expectations for the marketplaces and a contentious political environment. This time 

spent developing regulations resulted in further delays later in the process, such as States deciding whether to 

join the Federal Marketplace and technical needs for website contracts. These delays used valuable time and 

made an already compressed timeframe more difficult.

› POOR TRANSITION to CMS

The transition of the Federal Marketplace to CMS after 10 months in HHS OCIIO resulted in problems that 

lasted long after the move. HHS OCIIO made significant strides in establishing the policy framework, but did 

not focus attention on planning for the project’s longer-term technical and operational needs. CMS had to 

reconfigure roles and timelines, determine how it would leverage its resources, and begin work behind 

schedule. Further, while CMS’s infrastructure and experience provided greater resources for the project, it 

also required the Federal Marketplace to operate within a large bureaucratic structure that separated contract, 

policy, and technical staff, causing further diffusion to the project team and making implementation needlessly 

more complex. Interviews and documentation indicate that CMS leadership failed to address this diffusion by 

fostering effective collaboration, particularly between CMS policy and technical staff and contractors.

› LACK of PROJECT LEADER

CMS’s failure to immediately assign a project leader was particularly problematic for HealthCare.gov. Clear 

leadership alone may have corrected many of the project’s deficiencies. As a new project with staff spread 

across CMS, the HealthCare.gov team needed unity and identity within the larger organization. The project 

also needed quick decisionmaking and flexibility, made easier when a single lead entity is responsible rather 

than multiple entities with organizational layers. Effective project leadership would have enabled a 

comprehensive view across the project to better assess progress, identify problems, and determine priorities. 

Leadership was also lacking beneath the senior executive level, with high turnover among officials in CCIIO and 

high-level CMS technical officials involved in the HealthCare.gov build.

› MISMANAGEMENT of KEY WEBSITE CONTRACT

Mismanagement of the FFM contract with CGI Federal was a key problem for CMS in development up through 

the launch. The contracting process suffered from a limited number of bids and uncertainty about funding and 

technical specifications, and CMS contract oversight was disjointed and lacking. CMS made frequent changes to 

contracted work, some of which represented questionable technical decisions, and did not communicate 

effectively with CGI Federal about the changes and any resulting effects on staffing and schedules. Interviews 

and documentation indicate that CGI Federal made missteps as well; for example, the company did not 

adequately increase staffing and expertise when changes were made and progress began to deteriorate. Still, 

poor CMS management of the contract substantially contributed to problems building the FFM, a critical 

component of HealthCare.gov.
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 21

18

Documented 

Warnings

with concerns regarding 

the HealthCare.gov build

“Hope is not a strategy.” 

–Former CCIIO staff 

CHAPTER 2 

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO LAUNCH

January 2013–September 2013 

By January 2013, CMS knew that 34 of the eventual 36 States would participate in the Federal 

Marketplace for the first open enrollment period, finally giving contractors the knowledge of

needed scope and capacity. Still, inability to finalize business requirements continued to

hamper the website build into 2013. Some of these requirements were delayed because CMS 

had not yet completed the underlying program policies. For example, CMS did not finalize 

decisions about some aspects of the program—benefits required for health plans and using a 

single, streamlined Medicaid application—until February and June 2013.60 In other cases, 

such as Medicaid eligibility exceptions, CMS abandoned the goal of creating new policies and 

reverted to former practices because it lacked the time to solidify new policies. 

Several entities voiced concerns about the status of HealthCare.gov, but warnings 

were either not fully communicated or not acted upon 

A CMS technical advisor and two consulting firms identified specific problems that threatened 

a successful launch. Throughout the course of the HealthCare.gov build, staff at HHS and 

CMS, as well as outside entities, identified problems with the program and warned that these 

problems warranted action. By January 2013, the most common advice given to CMS senior 

leadership was that the program needed a single lead entity and that CMS should stop 

revising policy. During June–October 2012, the technical advisor hired by CMS to assess 

HealthCare.gov progress prepared six reports for the CMS Administrator and CCIIO leadership, 

laying out problems in explicit detail after reviewing project documentation. CMS also hired 

outside firms to assess progress. Throughout 2012 and 2013, a series of 11 technical reports 

from the firm TurningPoint Global Solutions gave scathing reviews, including a progress report 

in April 2013 that listed the Top 10 Risks of the website build, such as inadequate planning for 

website capacity and deviation from IT architectural standards. In addition, in early 2013, the 

Secretary hired McKinsey Consulting to review the program and make recommendations to

improve CMS management of the project. In all, CMS received 18 “documented warnings” of 

concerns regarding the HealthCare.gov build between July 2011 and July 2013, all containing 

substantial detail about the project’s shortcomings and formally submitted to CMS senior 

leadership or project managers at CMS. 
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013 

OEI‐06‐14‐00350            HealthCare.gov:  Case        Study of CMS Management        of the Federal Marketplace           22

   

         

       

       

   

   

     

     

   

       

     

“Who is tracking?”

Although CMS staff in both

its technical and policy

divisions were assigned to

oversee contracts,

documentation indicated

little formal corrective

action or even

communication with

contract managers in 2012

and early 2013.

Among the recommendations was to assign a single project leader for the Federal

Marketplace, the same advice given earlier by the U.S. CIO.  However, these reports were not

shared broadly with CMS leadership and technical staff.  The TurningPoint reports were

presented only to CMS technical staff, such as the CMS Deputy CIO, and McKinsey’s

recommendations were presented only to senior CMS officials such as the Administrator.  The

CMS Deputy CIO, the chief CMS technician on the HealthCare.gov build, specifically reported

that technical staff did not receive or even have knowledge of the McKinsey report findings.61

Attempts by CMS to take action on recommendations were poorly executed.  CMS officials

were repeatedly made aware of problems with the development of HealthCare.gov and

attempted to take corrective action, but these efforts were largely unsuccessful because they

were not fully and diligently executed.  For example, after criticism that there was not clear

leadership, CMS assigned its newly appointed COO (previously the Deputy COO) in early 2013

to head the Federal Marketplace program, but the assignment was not formally announced,

the position was not supported by clear responsibilities, and the designee had an already large

responsibility as CMS COO.  In addition, the Deputy COO position remained vacant until

November 2013, which meant even greater responsibility for the new COO.  Reflecting after

the launch, CMS officials pointed to this assignment as an example of underestimating the

enormity of the task.  The COO’s assignment also was not formally communicated to other

CMS leadership and staff, although staff indicated later that “the group sort of knew.”

As another example, a CMS advisor recommended that the project hire a technical systems

integrator62 and CMS officials and contractors discussed this need at several points in the

project.  However, in correspondence and congressional testimony, it was clear CMS technical

leadership perceived that CMS itself was already serving in that role.63  CGI Federal managers

reported that the lack of a true systems integrator created extra work that was outside the

scope of their contract.  For example, CGI Federal reported having to assist CMS with defining

the business requirements to mitigate problems with interdependency of various Federal

Marketplace computer systems and avoid losing more time for system development and

testing.  Although the systems integrator need not be a contractor, CMS staff and contractors

later identified two barriers to CMS serving in this capacity:  they reflected that few at CMS

had the necessary experience integrating a project of this size and complexity, and that CMS

leadership did not recognize the need to clearly outline responsibilities and delineate this role

from other CMS tasks.

CMS failed to effectively manage poor contractor performance with HealthCare.gov, and did 

not take sufficient action when aware of problems.  In February 2013, independent reviewer

TurningPoint Global Solutions determined that the FFM had a high number of coding defects.  

CMS staff later reported that CGI Federal’s coding quality did not improve later in

development.  In an onsite review in August 2013, just over 1 month before the

HealthCare.gov launch, CMS staff discovered that CGI Federal developers did not follow some

best practices for making late‐stage coding changes, resulting in software code conflicts

between some systems.  First, CMS discovered that CGI Federal was not following a

standardized process for documenting development of code, which resulted in very limited

information available in the CMS Central Repository.  As a reviewer reported, “[CGI Federal]
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 23

was making changes on the fly without documenting them up until the launch. They were 

breaking, from an industry perspective, every golden rule.” Second, CMS observed developers 

modifying the system without assessing the impact to other parts of the system, resulting in 

coding defects that required weeks to troubleshoot. Third, CMS observed developers using an 

outdated version of code to continue building the website and deploying incorrect versions of 

code. Fourth, CMS discovered that development teams were making system modifications 

that produced inefficiencies that required additional computing resources to process the 

code. 

In one technical example revealed in interviews, CMS discovered after the October 1 launch 

that in some instances the website software requested to access information from the FFM 

database over 100 times for a single operation that should require 1 or 2 requests. 

Compounding this problem was the fact that the requested information from the FFM 

database used what one CMS staffer called a “bloated data model” that made the information 

“10 times the ideal size” and larger with each request. Therefore, each of the numerous 

requests made to the database would have retrieved ever larger records and required more 

capacity to process. According to CMS documentation of its correspondence with CGI 

Federal, CMS noted delays and performance problems, but did not issue a Corrective Action 

Plan when performance did not meet the contractual commitments.64 Correspondence 

among CMS staff indicated that some 

believed CGI Federal “needed to have more 

skin on the line” to help ensure on-time 

delivery of functionality, implying that the 

cost-plus-fixed-fee contract type or lax 

contract oversight may have weakened 

project management. 

CMS senior leadership failed to fully grasp the poor status of the website build, and to alter its

course. Interviews indicated that at this point in time, CMS senior leadership believed that the 

technical work was still on schedule or close enough that concerted effort would ensure 

delivery at launch. An official in CCIIO reflected in an interview that “[CMS senior officials] 

would sit in meetings across from me and not know there is an enormous fire burning behind 

them.” It is not clear why CMS senior leadership failed to grasp the poor status or why those 

who felt the project was in danger failed to communicate their opinions more forcefully. 

When CMS requested a live demonstration for leadership of the online health insurance 

application 1 month before first open enrollment, CGI Federal presented snapshots of the 

software rather than a demonstration of the functionality. A CMS technical official 

commented, “You can’t test drive a Ferrari just by looking at pictures of a Ferrari going fast.” 

CGI Federal ultimately staged two successful live demonstrations in the weeks before first 

open enrollment, but the failed demonstration the prior week, which did not show actual 

functionality, did not indicate to CMS leadership that the Federal Marketplace was in trouble. 

“We are in bad shape. Perhaps 

worse than ever and we are not 

even touching the hard stuff yet.”

―Email from CMS technical staff
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 24

“Path Dependency”

is an unfounded reliance 

on former ways of doing 

things that prevents 

adaptation to new 

conditions.

CMS leadership, staff, and contractors became fixed or dependent on an organizational “path” 

to complete the website build, failing to adequately consider new information and alter 

course as needed. CMS has a long history of administering large programs, such as Medicare 

and Medicaid, but the organizational structure used to manage those programs was 

insufficient for developing and implementing the innovative technology solutions required for 

the website build. Part of the problem was poor communication across divisions and between 

CMS and contractors in an environment where project status changed quickly. As previously 

stated, CMS technical staff often received different messages from policymakers and 

contractors, and were forced to develop ad hoc strategies that were then not welldocumented and unlikely to evolve further. CMS staff and contractors reflected that they had 

failed to coordinate the work, did not adhere to a clear schedule, and failed to track progress 

and changes. 

The HealthCare.gov website build was alarmingly behind schedule, with CMS 

scrambling for “minimal functionality”

Communication deteriorated further as problems worsened, with a critical early piece of

HealthCare.gov failing in July 2013 and more problems arising through the summer. By 

summer 2013, responsible CMS staff had been warned of problems repeatedly and knew the 

website build was in trouble. Still, both leadership and responsible staff did not fully grasp the 

extent of problems and the degree to which the build was behind. Reflecting afterward, those 

involved reported that communication deteriorated as the situation worsened. Interviews 

and documentation revealed this was due to a number of factors: the range and number of 

technical problems made it difficult for nontechnical staff and officials to gauge the enormity 

and impact of problems, negative reports about progress became so common that they lost 

their power to alert, and information was not communicated comprehensively to 

demonstrate the extent of the problems across the build. 

This lack of recognition changed somewhat in 

July 2013, when CMS received a tangible sign of 

problems: an early component of the website 

build failed immediately. One of CGI Federal’s

significant deliverables for summer 2013 was

the pre-enrollment account creation system, 

Account Lite. In comparison to the overall 

website build, the functionality for Account Lite was fairly simple and straightforward. Still, it 

posed a challenge to deploy, in part because CMS did not request this functionality until 

May 2013 with an expected launch date of July 1, 2013. CGI Federal delayed delivery of the 

system past the July date, and then requested the assistance of CMS technical staff. 

When CGI Federal finally demonstrated the product, it performed poorly. A top OIS official 

indicated that a week past the date Account Lite was supposed to launch, OIS found 

105 defects with the Account Lite system. The extent of problems with Account Lite raised 

alarm throughout OIS, CCIIO, and OC, and began a shift in thinking that would lead to reducing 

planned functionality for HealthCare.gov. As a CCIIO official later noted, “That was our first 

“The level of complexity was 

greater than what we originally 

anticipated.” ―CMS official
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 25

117%

Increase

in CMS technical staff to 

support the Federal

Marketplace project

during August 2013,

nearly all reassigned from

other CMS projects.

inkling into how bad things were. If they couldn’t even deliver Account Lite, where were we 

on the build?”

CMS technical staff began to avoid reporting further bad news about the website build, leading 

to greater disconnection as problems worsened. Despite knowledge that the project was

going poorly, many of the CMS and contracted staff responsible for the Federal Marketplace 

build were averse to alerting those in leadership positions that there were problems with the 

build. Correspondence indicated that this was driven in large part by the belief that they 

would be able to succeed in the end, and thus there was little benefit to causing alarm. It also 

indicated that CMS technical staff were so busy attempting to complete the build that they 

were reluctant to take time reporting to executives and answering questions. During this 

timeframe, HHS IT leadership requested more information from CMS, but did not receive the 

information requested. The reluctance to convey information included the critical topic of

website security, even though security testing ran well behind schedule and identified possible 

risks. The top CMS security official later testified to Congress that “[CMS leadership] was not 

properly briefed or properly portrayed, [about] the issues that were happening that week 

during security testing.”

65

 During the Account Lite problems, a CMS official’s correspondence 

indicated that those responsible kept “thinking and hoping that the next thing will solve more 

issues and we'll be okay.”

Despite the importance of the mission, a small number of CMS staff carried responsibility. Had 

communication about the project’s status been more open at this stage, leadership at CMS 

and contractors might have been prompted to add additional staff to the website 

development earlier; they did not add substantially to staffing until less than 2 months before 

launch. CMS officials reflected later that in summer 2013, there were still relatively few 

people working on the project given its size and slippage in the schedule, and experienced 

technical staff and others in CMS were not called to assist. Officials and staff not included in 

the development of HealthCare.gov included CMS’s CTO, responsible for technological 

innovation and strategy, CMS’s CIO, responsible for operating CMS technological systems, and 

most of the staff of CMS OIS. Additionally, HHS technical officials and staff could seemingly 

have been called in to assist, including the HHS CTO, the HHS CIO, and others. CMS 

documentation indicated that CGI Federal did not make requests during this period for more 

staffing or more time. 

By late July 2013, HealthCare.gov technical managers were requesting assistance from others 

in their divisions; as one stated, “You know it has to be bad if I am requesting help.” Two 

months before the October 1 launch, CMS temporarily assigned 60 additional staff from other 

projects within OIS (39 staff) and in other parts of CMS (21 staff) to assist the 51 staff already 

working on the Federal Marketplace, a 117 percent increase (see Figure 1). Some involved in

the project reported that it felt too late to involve others, given the steep learning curve, and 

that they were embarrassed to “add others into a mess.” As late as mid-September 2013, 

there were calls for establishing contingency plans, including pulling in additional staff and 

even CMS staff taking the project over from contractors.
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 26

Figure 1: Increase in CMS staff dedicated to Federal Marketplace, July–August 2013. 

Source: OIG analysis of 2013 CMS organizational charts, 2015. 

Last minute attempts to correct and avoid further problems with HealthCare.gov 

were ad hoc and insufficient

CMS continued to prioritize functions and cut those it could not complete, including the 

Spanish language website and the “anonymous shopper” function. CMS focused by

mid-August on determining the minimum that could be delivered by October 1, holding 

“reprioritization” meetings to further reduce the scope of the HealthCare.gov build to deliver 

basic functionality. Part of the reprioritization process involved collaborating with CGI Federal 

to establish a list of “minimum essential capabilities” and a timeline for FFM development. 

There was an attempt at this time to recognize problems and renew project unity and mission. 

The CMS COO, assigned to serve as the single project lead, announced at an August 2013 

meeting, “This is a blame-free zone. We are a team. This is the President’s number one 

priority and we will make it happen, but we must be open and honest with each other.” The 

revised scope and functionality of the website was reduced to only what CMS considered 

necessary: accepting information, determining eligibility, and selecting a plan. There was

skepticism among CMS staff regarding whether even that could be completed: “Around the 

table, people were saying, how are we going to get this done?” There was also discussion 

about whether the existing pieces were so flawed that CMS should begin developing some 

pieces anew rather than improve upon the existing structure. Reprioritization resulted in 

reductions to planned scope and functionality of the website. In August 2013, CMS called on

CGI Federal to develop a definitive plan for the final 40 days. The CMS Deputy CIO instructed 

them, “Don’t dwell. Don’t debate. Don’t be in denial. Come up with a plan, however thin it is

because it certainly is better than an unrealistic plan.” The reprioritization included delaying 

the Spanish language website, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, a tool that correspondence indicated was

particularly important to White House staff. Meeting notes from this time period revealed 

that the CMS Administrator was notified of this decision, made by other senior CMS officials, 

on September 3, 2013. 

After consulting with technical staff, the CMS Administrator communicated to HHS and White 

House officials that CuidadoDeSalud.gov would be working by October 15, 2013. (It was later 

delayed further and was not working until early December 2013.) The Secretary of HHS and 

the U.S. CTO expressed concern about losing consumers and asked CMS to provide additional 

call center support for Spanish speakers, which it did. CMS also announced on September 26, 

2013, that it would delay until November 2013 its completion of the Small Business Health 

We contemplated

[as late as August 2013] 

whether we would scrap the

whole thing and start over.

–CMS technical staff

“
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 27

Final State Count

For the first open 

enrollment period,

36 States, including

7 State-partnership

marketplaces, used the

Federal Marketplace,

and 15 States had

established State

marketplaces.

62%

of Americans did not 

know the exchanges were 

opening October 1, 2013.

–Kaiser Family Foundation

Options Program (SHOP) website, a companion website to HealthCare.gov.66 SHOP provides 

health plan selection and enrollment for businesses with 50 or fewer full-time-equivalent 

workers. (The SHOP website was further delayed until second open enrollment, opening in 

November 2014 then adding further consumer tools in February 2015.) 

Needing even further reductions in technical scope, CMS also delayed a tool to identify and 

compare health plan information that CMS had dubbed “anonymous shopper,” as well as 

parts of the Eligibility and Enrollment functionality. The anonymous shopper tool would have 

allowed consumers to view some targeted health plan information, including premiums 

estimates, without completing a full application. (The tool was not truly “anonymous” in that 

consumers would still have to create an account.) Testing of the anonymous shopper tool 

during August–September 2013 revealed that it did not provide accurate information and 

would require significant rework. 

Since CMS did not consider the tool to be critical for the launch, it delayed the completion 

until after October 1, 2013. Parts of the Eligibility and Enrollment system that were delayed 

until later included the automated functionality enabling the FFM to send and receive 

enrollment information to issuers regarding enrollee status (e.g., payment of premium, plan 

cancellation, changes in circumstance) and the resolution of complex application 

inconsistencies (e.g., income, whether applicant is lawfully present in the U.S.), which can 

occur when Federal data available through the Hub do not exist or do not match an 

applicant’s information. A CMS official reflected later that reducing scope “seemed 

reasonable and normal before a launch of this size.” However, project documents and 

correspondence indicated the lateness and depth of these reductions was not planned. 

CMS and contractors recognized they would not finish system functionality testing before the 

launch, but prioritized delivering the product on time over testing and resolving problems. By 

August it was clear to both CMS technical staff and contractors that the system would not be 

fully tested for functionality before October 1, 2013. As one contractor remarked, “You can’t 

test what is not built.” Issuers complained about testing delays and problems conducting 

tests due to incomplete and malfunctioning software and unavailable testing environments 

(the computing and storage space to run tests). This lack of system capacity to conduct 

testing affected those who were building website pieces because the agile development 

process relies on testing of each increment as it is completed to ensure it functions correctly. 

In addition, according to CMS and contracted staff, CMS was never able to complete full 

end-to-end testing that identifies problems in how the pieces work together, because the 

component pieces arrived too late. Regardless of the development process used, complete 

end-to-end testing is the final, and a critical, step in simulating consumer use of all functions. 

One technology contractor involved in the build reported, “End-to-end testing is critical. It’s 

suicide not to do it.” CMS staff did not appear to consider the lack of functionality testing to 

be a dire situation. The CMS technical team reported they considered launching the website 

on time the priority over testing for and resolving performance problems. One CMS technical 

official characterized the launch itself as a test of the system and indicated that CMS planned 

to resolve problems after launch, as CMS had done with other large programs, such as 

Medicare Part D.
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 28

CMS prepared to launch HealthCare.gov on October 1, 2013, as planned, optimistic 

in spite of problems and never seriously considering delay 

CMS leadership held no formal discussion of delaying the website launch date, despite poor 

progress. There were many discussions in the months leading up to the launch that the 

HealthCare.gov build was behind schedule, including multiple presentations to CMS 

leadership. Still, documents and interviews indicated that no one among CMS leadership, or 

seemingly even among CMS staff, seriously discussed delaying the October 1 launch date.67 

This may be in part because some CMS staff and contractors working on the build were under 

the misimpression that the deadline for website functionality was statutory when, in fact, the 

ACA required that health plan coverage begin by January 1, 2014.68 Moreover, some HHS and 

CMS staff feared that due to the high expectations and the contention surrounding the 

marketplaces, if HealthCare.gov did not launch as planned it might fuel efforts in Congress to

repeal the ACA. 

Several key CMS technical staff reported they 

never discussed the launch date with CMS 

leadership, neither when the date was set in

2012 nor leading up to the launch. Some staff 

at CMS complained in correspondence to each 

other that the timeframe was unrealistic and 

that leadership was bent on moving forward 

despite the significant workload and problems. CGI Federal reported that it did not request 

additional time or formally request that CMS delay the launch because it believed CMS would 

not delay due to the White House’s public commitment to launch on October 1, 2013. Many 

CMS staff reported later that they were eager to launch HealthCare.gov despite concerns 

shortly before launch, and were optimistic about its success. Some may have assumed the 

launch would be delayed at the last minute if functionality did not operate correctly; the 

Medicare Part D website launch was delayed several times, on its proposed launch date and 

two other promised dates, ultimately launching three weeks after originally planned.69

Not delaying the launch resulted in a race to complete what was possible before the deadline. 

By September, concern grew to the degree that officials with little prior involvement in the 

Federal Marketplace, including managers from other programs at CMS, technical officials from 

HHS and other Federal agencies, and the U.S. CTO, began asking responsible CMS and 

contractor staff for more detailed progress reports and offered their assistance. At this point, 

CGI Federal and CMS technical offices were filled with staff and experts from multiple 

Government and contractor offices, including support staff from software vendors and CMS 

technical staff who had no prior knowledge of the Federal Marketplace program and 

therefore were not optimally prepared to contribute quickly. CMS OC also began notifying 

stakeholders and consumers through messages on the website and outreach to media to

potentially expect some problems. As one OC official noted, “It was never a matter of 

whether we moved forward, it was only how to message about what the public and others 

could expect to reduce poor reactions.”

The launch was 

alpha version 1 of the

[Federal] Marketplace. 

You would expect version 1

to do exactly what it did . . . 

launching to 300 million

Americans on day one was 

a crazy idea. –HHS official

“

“People needed insurance. In the 

absence of major problems, it 

was important to move forward.”

―HHS official
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013 

OEI‐06‐14‐00350           HealthCare.gov:  Case        Study of CMS Management        of the Federal Marketplace           29

  

  

       

       

     

     

   

       

       

   

       

“Authorization

to Operate”

is a declaration stating

publicly that the launching

organization (e.g., CMS)

has deemed the

functionality sufficient

and is accepting any

associated risk to the

organization’s operations

or to others involved.

     

   

   

   

       

72 hours

before launch of

HealthCare.gov, CMS

requested the

contractor to double

computing capacity

on September 26, 2013.

   

CMS moved HealthCare.gov forward to launch with an interim authorization to operate and 

concerns about incomplete security testing.  Federal guidelines require that a senior official or

executive assume responsibility for operating an information system at an acceptable level of

risk by signing an Authorization to Operate (ATO).70  ATOs are typically signed by the CMS CIO,

last for 1–3 years, and include supporting documentation of security testing.71  Each part of

the Federal Marketplace system (e.g., FFM, Hub, and EIDM) required an ATO before

operating.  Full, 3‐year ATOs for the EIDM and Hub were completed and signed by the

CMS CIO (on March 22, 2013, and September 6, 2013, respectively).

On September 24, 2013, just days before the launch, CMS’s chief information security officer

raised concerns that the FFM did not reasonably meet CMS’s security requirements, citing

specific concerns about the lack of security testing.  Given this information, and the high

profile of HealthCare.gov, the CMS Administrator, CIO, and COO determined that a higher

official than the CIO should sign an interim (short‐term) ATO that would require completed

security testing within 6 months of launch.  On September 27, 2013, the CMS Administrator

signed the interim ATO, which allowed the FFM to operate for 6 months provided that the

security risks were reduced by employing a mitigation plan that included completing

additional security testing and installing continuous monitoring.  Additional security testing

was conducted in December 2013 and a full, 1‐year ATO was signed by the CMS CIO on

March 12, 2014.  

Shortly before launch, CMS determined that the system had much lower capacity than 

anticipated and requested that the contractor double capacity in 3 days.  On September 26,

2013, CMS technical officials visited CGI Federal offices to assess progress on the FFM build

and conduct testing.  They conducted limited performance testing and determined that the

website capacity could support far fewer concurrent (simultaneous) users than planned.  The

low capacity available was in part because the software code required more infrastructure

capacity for execution than CMS anticipated.

According to CMS and contractor staff, the CMS officials drove immediately to the offices of

Terremark, the main contractor for HealthCare.gov computing capacity and infrastructure,

and informed its project managers that the project would require double the capacity already

purchased by CMS for the launch.  A Terremark manager reported in interviews that “The

request was to double everything 72 hours from launch.  We had done an extremely large

build for months.  We were pulling gear from all over the world, renting planes to get

hardware here that was intended for other clients.”  The request for a 72‐hour buildup was

made on September 26 (4.5 days from launch) to allow for at least 1 day of testing.  Terremark

added more than double the capacity during this time, and by September 29, testers indicated

that the concurrent user limit was raised substantially.  A CMS technical official communicated

to the CMS Administrator and U.S. CTO over the course of September 29‐30 that capacity was

no longer a critical problem.
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013 

OEI‐06‐14‐00350            HealthCare.gov:  Case        Study of CMS Management        of the Federal Marketplace           30

Technical problems continued in the final days before launch.  The EIDM account and identity

management system suffered outages on September 29, and contractors reported later that

they anticipated continued problems.  (See Figure 2 for a timeline of the final countdown to

launch, July–October 2013.)  Still, the CMS Administrator emailed the U.S. CTO on  

September 29 that the website would be ready to launch on October 1.  CMS officials later

reflected that they were nervous about the launch, but were still excited to move forward and

that they did not understand the depth of the technical problems or predict the poor

outcome.  As one CMS official reflected later, there was a sense that “it is always like this on

major projects, with tight deadlines and complex delivery.”

Figure 2:  Timeline of Final Countdown to Launch, July–October 2013.

Source: OIG analysis of CMS project management documents, 2015. 
Final Countdown to Launch | January 2013–September 2013

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 31

 

KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO BREAKDOWN

› COMPRESSED TIMEFRAME for TECHNICAL BUILD

The final months of development and implementation for HealthCare.gov were chaotic for CMS staff and 

contractors. The 9 months from January–September 2013 provided, from the outset, very little time to 

accomplish the tasks remaining. These included tasks critical to success, such as testing website functionality 

and security, and ensuring adequate capacity for users. Changes in policy and scope continued into early 

2013, with the States’ deadline to establish their own marketplaces or join the Federal Marketplace moved to 

December 2012 and many decisions remaining regarding the content of the website. CMS made changes to 

business requirements and technical specifications well into 2013, delaying development to a point where it 

was not feasible to complete and test the website as initially planned.

› RESISTANCE to BAD NEWS

CMS leadership and staff were warned of trouble prior to the launch of HealthCare.gov, both formally with 

reports from outside entities hired to assess the project and informally, through meetings and emails. 

Despite this awareness, those knowledgeable at CMS did not ensure that the bad news prompted 

appropriate change. CMS leadership and staff took little action to respond to warnings, remaining overly 

optimistic about the launch, and developing few contingency plans. As the project degraded further and 

problems became more well-known, CMS officials and staff appear to have become desensitized to bad news 

about progress. The problems were layered and complex, and information became unwieldy and difficult to 

prioritize. Also, the CMS officials were used to problems implementing large projects, particularly with 

technology, causing them to fail to recognize the extent of problems with HealthCare.gov.

› PATH DEPENDENCY

In early 2013, problems with the HealthCare.gov build deepened and CMS did little to improve management. 

Through most of the year, CMS continued with the same plans for a full launch and even added an early 

implementation of the Account Lite creation function. Given the technology and complex systems involved, 

changing the project’s path would have required a leader or team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of 

status, and to either possess the authority to alter tasks and processes or to fully communicate that 

assessment to leaders with that authority. Absent this, CMS staff and contractors continued with the initial 

strategy and goals, falling further behind schedule, with largely the same leadership, staff, and plan.

› CORRECTIONS WEAK and LATE

By the time CMS took action to change the project’s path in August and September of 2013, it was too late to 

adequately affect change given the substantial need for progress and improved execution. For example, the 

CMS Administrator placed the CMS COO as head of the project without establishing a clear agenda or 

communicating the decision to the full team. CMS cut functionality that was at one time considered critical 

to a successful launch, such as the Spanish language and SHOP websites, to divert resources to the main 

build. This occurred in the last few weeks before launch, when developers and testers reported they were 

months behind. The rush to launch affected all aspects of the build, including moving forward with only an 

interim authorization to operate and requesting double computing capacity late in September. Leaders 

sought to deliver “minimal functionality” but without a comprehensive and thoughtful strategy. The 

corrections were too weak and late to avert the poor outcome.
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 32

“CMS didn’t need a technological surge, 

we needed an organizational surge.” 

–CMS Official 

CHAPTER 3 

LAUNCH, CORRECTION, & FIRST

OPEN ENROLLMENT 

October 2013–March 2014

The HealthCare.gov launch quickly revealed multiple problems with the website, 

and initial efforts to fix the problems were hampered by lack of coordination

Problems with HealthCare.gov were apparent immediately after launch. On October 1, 2013, 

HealthCare.gov experienced 250,000 concurrent users, much greater than the planned 

capacity. Website outages began within 2 hours of launch, preventing many consumers from 

logging in and signing up for health insurance. In reporting to the public, the U.S. CTO 

attributed the problems to high volume, which was five times the number of simultaneous 

users anticipated.72 It was soon clear to CMS and contracted operators that the 

HealthCare.gov issues were not caused solely by a higher number of visitors to the website 

but also by core problems in website 

performance. In the end, only six 

consumers were able to submit an 

application and select a plan on the first 

day of the first open enrollment. The 

problems at launch created a firestorm of 

negative stakeholder response and media 

attention chronicling the website 

problems. Within days of the 

HealthCare.gov launch, CMS leadership 

dispatched additional CMS and contractor staff to be onsite at the CGI Federal command 

center in Herndon, VA to correct software defects and improve system performance. Those 

onsite were largely staff from CMS and CGI Federal, joined gradually by additional staff from a 

number of contractors involved with the build. 

“We were sitting in the office at 

midnight when it started running 

and it wasn’t looking good. 

Everything was turning red on our 

screens.” ―EIDM contracted staff
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014 

OEI‐06‐14‐00350            HealthCare.gov:  Case        Study of CMS Management        of the Federal Marketplace           

Homepage    of HealthCare.gov          at launch, October 1, 2013.

   

  

       

Software, Design

Defects Cripple

Health‐Care Website

–The Wall Street Journal

10/6/2013

CMS and contractors identified the most immediate performance problem as the EIDM, the

website entry system used for establishing accounts and verifying consumer identity, a

problem caused in part by CMS not adequately communicating with contractors about overall

system functionality.  The lack of capacity on the part of the EIDM created a bottleneck to

consumers reaching website functions and information.  As one CMS official explained, “It was

like having a small, one‐lane onramp to a major highway.”  The EIDM bottleneck also caused

problems for developers; since the EIDM served as an entry point to the website, coders

assigned to fix errors could not easily access the website themselves to see and correct other

problems.  As one CMS technical official reported, “The FFM was actually the bigger problem,

but we could not see the magnitude of the coding problems in the FFM and begin fixing until

we got through the EIDM problem.”  CMS directed QSSI to fix the EIDM and at the same time

directed CGI Federal to construct a new portal for website entry and account creation, to be

used if QSSI was not able to fix the EIDM.  The work on a new portal expended CGI Federal

coding time that could have been devoted to other website fixes, but an HHS technical advisor

reflected later that the redundancy was a reasonable strategy given the importance of the

website entry function and uncertainty about the viability of the EIDM.  

QSSI, the contractor responsible for developing the EIDM, reported later that they did not

know that all visitors to the website would have to enter through the EIDM system and,

therefore, underestimated the capacity needed.  QSSI officials reported in interviews that they

believed the anonymous shopper tool would enable individuals to view health plan

information without creating an account, and that CMS’s decision to postpone

implementation of the tool contributed to the EIDM experiencing heavier than expected

traffic.  CMS officials later confirmed that the (poorly named) anonymous shopper tool would

not have been truly “anonymous” and would have required individuals to create an account

through the EIDM even if they only wanted to view plans.  (Later in October, CMS launched a

limited, temporary shopping tool to allow consumers to view health plan information without

establishing an account.)

33
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 34

Initial efforts to fix the website were hampered by lack of information and coordination among 

CMS and contracted operators. Also hampering diagnosis and correction of the website was a 

lack of coordination among CMS and contractors in monitoring website performance. CMS 

technical staff later reported that ensuring comprehensive and coordinated monitoring was 

not a priority before the launch because resources were focused on completing the build of 

the website. CMS, CGI Federal, QSSI and other contractors continued adding staffing 

resources prior to and following the launch, but there was no clear entity or system to 

coordinate and monitor their efforts. A CMS technical official reported that prior to the 

launch, contractors were responsible for monitoring their own systems and unable to see 

other systems, which was a problem because the systems worked together. As a result, there 

were teams from CMS and contractors in different locations functioning as separate 

“command centers,” including the CGI Federal command center in Herndon and a QSSI 

command center in Columbia, MD. These centers had a variety of tools for monitoring 

outages, response time, and errors in loading and processing information, but there was not a 

single, systems-wide leader or team with an overview of the project and ability to take action. 

While the CGI Federal command center was still considered the primary location for operating 

HealthCare.gov, it did not house all CMS and contracted staff relevant to the website’s 

operations. It did not include development teams or contractors responsible for the Hub, 

EIDM, and data centers, and it did not have an entity serving formally as systems integrator to 

coordinate these functions. 

Federal Government-wide shutdown further complicated CMS’s management of the launch. 

The morning of the launch, the Federal Government was shut down due to lack of funding.73 

The Government shutdown was not certain until late the prior evening. Thus, CMS officials 

had to manage both the launch and implementing the shutdown, such as distributing notices 

to staff and managing orderly shutdown processes. The shutdown lasted for 16 days and 

affected critical Federal Marketplace staff, complicating implementation. CMS officials 

reported that staff in key offices responsible for Federal Marketplace functions, including 

CCIIO, OIS, and OC, was reduced to approximately one-third its pre-shutdown levels and in 

some subgroups, closer to one-tenth of pre-shutdown levels. Contractors continued to work 

on HealthCare.gov during the shutdown, but they reported that they were hampered by CMS 

staff not able to work and by the general disruption of processes and communication brought 

on by the shutdown. 

After initial difficulties, CMS and contractors worked with outside experts to repair 

HealthCare.gov, instilling changes in the project culture and work processes 

CMS reconfigured HealthCare.gov operations to improve the website, establishing clearer 

leadership and consolidating technical 

operations. On October 22, three weeks 

after the launch, HHS announced new 

leadership for the HealthCare.gov fix, 

appointing a well-known Federal manager 

to oversee efforts to improve the website 

and facilitate enrollment.74 At the same 

“This was the hardest thing I have 

ever done and I hope nothing ever 

comes close to it again.”

―Member of ad hoc technology team
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 35

time, the U.S. CTO recruited an ad hoc technology team comprised of several leaders and 

engineers from top technology firms who were not involved with the Federal Marketplace 

development.75 HHS and CMS officials made improving the website a top priority. The 

Administration assigned an official with business operations experience as the project lead, 

responsible for managing daily operations and reporting back to White House staff. CMS also 

filled the Deputy COO position, which had remained vacant leading up to October 1, to

provide assistance to the COO. Some from the ad hoc technology team also took lead roles, 

identifying problems and organizing daily tasks. In combination with the HHS and CMS 

leadership already involved, this made for a multi-layered group of managers and advisors 

that could have resulted in difficulties determining which leader would make key decisions. 

Yet all interview respondents involved in this period reported that it was a productive and 

efficient environment, with few if any problems of delegation or workflow. 

According to CMS staff and contractors, the productive environment was due to several 

factors: the willingness of CMS and CGI Federal staff to open their work processes to input 

and work side-by-side with the new ad hoc technology team; the tight structure and discipline 

brought by the new leadership and engineers, several with extensive expertise working with 

successful private sector companies; and the shared sense of mission and urgency involved to 

make the website work for consumers. As observed by a leader of the ad hoc technology 

team, “Some of the very best engineers and troubleshooters in the world willingly put their 

lives on hold to dedicate their time to this very difficult problem. . . . They found Government 

officials and contractors, who also wanted nothing more than to fix the site and who were 

ready and willing to work together.”

76

 Similarly, CGI Federal managers reported that their 

staff felt strongly about fixing the website and “finishing the job we started.” Still, the task at 

hand was difficult and those onsite experienced many successes and failures in improving the 

software and systems. 

By late October, CMS and contractors began to move command center operations residing at 

the CGI Federal facility in Herndon and other locations to QSSI’s Columbia location, 

establishing what would ultimately become the formal HealthCare.gov command center—the 

Exchange Operations Center (XOC). The structure at the XOC was based on active 

coordination between technical and policy staff, a key component missing during the website 

preparation and development. The structure ensured that technical solutions aligned with the 

functionality consumers needed to apply for and select plans. A member of the ad hoc 

technology team explained, “We had policy folks figuring out the error messages. What did 

the code do or not do? What was supposed to happen?” Lack of tools for website monitoring 

was still a problem for those repairing the website, particularly as it concerned consumer use. 

A member of the ad hoc technology team 

noted that in the absence of comprehensive 

monitoring tools, “There was no place to 

look to find out whether the site was up 

today or not except CNN, which was literally 

how we found out about problems a good 

part of the time in the beginning.”77 

“There was no place to look to find 

out whether the site was up today 

or not except CNN.” 

―Member of ad hoc technology team
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 36

“Badgeless Culture” is

a term used by CMS to

signify all CMS and

contracted staff operating

as a team regardless of

their employer status or

job title.

Contractors and the ad hoc team of technical experts recommended that CMS obtain 

monitoring tools for a variety of functions, including website traffic, capacity use, speed of file 

transfers to States, and website security. During the period of October 1–December 1, 2013, 

and shortly after, CMS purchased new monitoring tools that provided at-a-glance statistics 

(dashboard) of website performance. 

The technical staff were divided by function, with one group focused on capacity and speed, 

and another on defects in the software code. Assignments were made by skill and availability, 

irrespective of whether the person was employed by CMS or any of the contractors. This 

effort was the beginning of a “badgeless, titleless” culture at the XOC, meaning an

environment in which all staff were to operate as a team regardless of their job title or

whether they were a CMS employee or a contractor. Nontechnical CMS staff and contractors 

were also present at the XOC, or actively communicating with technical staff located at the 

center. For example, the call centers were linked to the XOC to provide information about 

problems their staff heard about from consumers. 

CMS made key decisions to build on current systems rather than create new ones, to develop 

contingency plans, and to hire a technical systems integrator. CMS leadership, in consultation 

with the ad hoc technology team, made a key early decision to refactor (correct and 

streamline the code for) the existing software code rather than rebuild from scratch. Those 

involved reported that the decision was based on the tremendous time investment required 

to start over and the willingness of CMS and contractor staff to work together with the ad hoc 

technology team to identify and solve problems.78

At the same time these repairs were underway, CMS began to develop redundancies for core 

operations in the event of future problems. CMS’s contingency plan up to this point was to 

ask consumers to fill out paper applications through call-center assistance if the website went 

down. The new contingency planning focused on establishing redundant systems to keep the 

website up if the primary systems failed. CMS hired separate groups of developers to begin 

creating new systems to replace three key components of HealthCare.gov. These were an

account creation system, the Scalable Log-In System (SLS) that, unlike the CMS-wide EIDM 

(the EIDM was developed to support multiple CMS programs), was created exclusively for 

HealthCare.gov; a streamlined application, Application 2.0 (App 2.0); and Plan Compare 2.0, a 

new shopping tool that provided more robust information about health plans and premiums, 

and did not require consumers to create an account. Lastly, CMS hired three companies to

run data centers to provide system capacity, placing various data functions at different 

centers so that, as a CMS official stated, CMS would “not put all our eggs in one basket” and 

have a greater range of data resources to call upon. 

A key decision by CMS during this time was to hire QSSI as technical systems integrator to 

serve as an advisor in coordinating technical tasks and resources. By all accounts, this action 

led to greater coordination between and among contractors and CMS technical staff, and 

enabled project leaders to more quickly and clearly identify and correct problems and allot 

resources. The job of the systems integrator is to coordinate operations, ensuring that those 

responsible for various aspects of the project communicate their activities, schedules, and 
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 37

needs to each other. Some in CMS and outside the agency had raised the idea of contracting 

a systems integrator at various times 

since 2011, but the concept was not 

widely discussed. According to CMS 

officials, for past projects such as the 

Medicare Part D implementation, 

CMS coordinated contract activities 

themselves, but the agency had not 

implemented a project with the 

scope and complexity of the Federal 

Marketplace. A CMS official reported 

that, in hindsight, CMS had a difficult 

time performing the systems integrator role and that it plans to keep a HealthCare.gov 

systems integrator for the foreseeable future. 

HHS officials provided information to Congress and the public. At the same time as CMS staff 

and contractors were fixing the website, the HHS Secretary and White House staff were 

managing much of the public fallout following the launch. The website problems were 

front-page news and generated substantial debate among all manner of stakeholders, 

including Congress.79 This culminated in 10 congressional hearings before the end of 

November, with testimony from the HHS Secretary, CMS staff, IRS, and contractors.80

During this time, the CMS OC was responsible for providing updates to the White House, HHS, 

and the public, holding daily briefings to indicate project status. OC also managed the call 

centers, adding thousands of call center operators after the first week of operations and 

transmitting information to technical staff about problems reported by website users to the 

call-center staff. The website difficulty also affected the call centers and staff in external 

organizations that helped consumers enroll, such as navigators. In interviews and external 

studies, navigators reported that technical difficulties with the website and long wait times at 

the call centers increased the amount of time needed with each applicant. One external study 

found that approximately 25 percent of assisters (such as navigators) spent more than 

2 hours, on average, with each applicant.81 Developers also made improvements that 

instructed consumers when the online application was unavailable and provided the call 

center number as an alternative for consumers to apply for coverage. 

HHS announced an improvement benchmark, that the website would “relaunch” and work 

smoothly for the vast majority of users by the end of November, a date many believed was 

necessary, given that the ACA required coverage by January 1, 2014.82 Public reports 

indicated that the new target date was made on the basis of assurances that the ad hoc 

technology team made to the White House.83

Nobody could 

have felt worse than the 

people at CMS did. It was 

their responsibility to 

stand it up. They want to 

never have this happen 

again. –HHS Official

“

“We put eyes on everything. We 

deployed tools that enabled us to see 

ahead of time if the server would get 

overloaded. We threw everything up on 

a monitor to see what was going on.”

―QSSI, technical systems integrator
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 38

The system is down at the moment. 

We are experiencing technical difficulties and hope to have them resolved soon. Please try again later. 

In a hurry? You might be able to apply faster at our Marketplace call center. 

Call 1-800-318-2596 to talk with one of our trained representatives about applying over the phone. 

HealthCare.gov

HealthCare.gov consumer message, November 10, 2013.

Those responsible for repairing the website reported that although daily operations of fixing 

and operating the website were going fairly smoothly, lack of communication among some 

HHS and CMS senior leadership was still a problem. For example, CMS leaders at the XOC

reported that they were not involved in discussions about whether the end of November was 

reasonable from a technological perspective, and that HHS informed them only after the 

decision was made. The deadline created further pressure to improve, with one HHS official 

later reflecting in an interview that “the December 1 assurance for improvement seemed 

ambitious.” Sporadic outages of Terremark’s equipment challenged these efforts, including 

two outages in late October 2013 that led to website downtimes of 24 and 36 hours. 

HealthCare.gov downtime message, October 30, 2013. 
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014 

OEI‐06‐14‐00350            HealthCare.gov:  Case        Study of CMS Management of      the Federal Marketplace           

   

Inadequate website capacity continued to be a challenge, limiting computing and storage

infrastructure for developers to make changes.  By mid‐November, Terremark had increased

capacity to a point at which these challenges were lessened and progress accelerated.84  The

work to improve website performance continued at a strenuous pace, with some CMS staff

and contractors reporting they slept in nearby hotels and worked 24‐hour shifts.  In the

meantime, HealthCare.gov went down several times, and press reports and public dialogue

were highly critical of the website.  As one CMS official stated, “those were dark days.”  CMS

also continued to reduce the scope of the HealthCare.gov build, for example announcing on

November 27, 2013, that the SHOP website promised for that month would be delayed until

the second open enrollment period a year later.85

CMS and the expanded technical team improved HealthCare.gov by December 1,

2013 and continued improvements through early 2014  

Even with HealthCare.gov substantially improved, CMS faced large challenges to further 

improve operations.  CMS improved website performance by December 1, 2013, as promised

by HHS.  Also in December, CMS enhanced its shopping tool that allowed consumers to shop

for health plans without creating an account.  CMS staff and contractors continued website

corrections through the end of first open enrollment (March 31, 2014).  The proportion of

time that the website was functioning went from 42 percent in early November to over 90

percent at the end of November (see Figure 3).86

Figure 3:  Percent of time HealthCare.gov functioned during November 2013.

Source: CMS, HealthCare.gov Progress and Performance Report, December 1, 2013. 

The website could now handle more than 35,000 concurrent users without crashing, and

technical glitches were less frequent.87  The XOC had project‐wide monitoring systems and

website performance dashboards.  When capacity was overloaded, CMS could place

consumers in “waiting rooms” that inhibited navigating further to complete tasks until website

traffic was reduced.  When placed in a waiting room, consumers were given an option to

receive email notification to return to the website when capacity was available or to contact

the call center to apply.

39
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 40

HealthCare.gov waiting room message, December 23, 2013.

HealthCare.gov

HealthCare.gov has a lot of visitors right now! 

We need you to wait here, so we can make sure there’s room for you to have a good experience. 

If you are trying to enroll by the December 23rd deadline for coverage beginning on January 1 

and can’t finish because our system is busy, we will still help you get the coverage you need.

While you wait, here are some things you can do to get ready to enroll: 

Gather important documents and numbers: here’s a list

Browse: health plans available in your area

Find out if you might be able to get lower costs using our quick calculator 

Remember, you can apply right now at our Marketplace call center. Call 1-800-318-2596 to talk with one of our trained 

representatives about applying over the phone. 

Can’t wait?

Leave your email and we’ll send you a one-time message when HealthCare.gov is ready for you to return. 

Email address 

SKIP THE WAIT 

As the technical staff fixed defects and improved performance, staff at CCIIO and OC were 

focused on retaining and assisting consumers by resolving problems with individual cases 

identified by call centers, navigators, and issuers. CMS also extended the period for signing up 

for health insurance coverage that would be effective beginning January 1, 2014, by 9 days 

(shifting from December 15, 2013, to December 24, 2013) so that those who encountered 

difficulty enrolling could have more time.88 On the final day, HealthCare.gov experienced 

49,156 concurrent users, and approximately 1.2 million consumers selected a plan through 

HealthCare.gov by December 28, 2013.89

As the end of the first open enrollment period neared, other issues emerged. As of February 

2014, CMS reported that the Federal Marketplace was unable to resolve about 2.6 million of 

2.9 million application inconsistencies, which occur when a marketplace cannot verify an 

applicant’s information (e.g., Social Security number, citizenship, income, family size) through 

available data sources, such as IRS or SSA.90 CMS reported that as of February 2014, the 

Federal Marketplace computer systems lacked the capability to resolve inconsistencies and 

that CMS would retain any documents submitted to resolve inconsistencies until CMS’s 

eligibility system had that capability.91,92,93 In addition, subsequent OIG work determined that 

not all of the Federal Marketplace’s internal controls were effective in ensuring that 

consumers were properly determined eligible for health plans and insurance affordability 

programs.94 For example, OIG found that the Federal Marketplace did not always validate an 

applicant’s Social Security number when the applicant provided the number at the end of, 

rather than the beginning of, the application process.95
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 41

After January 1, 2014, and through the remainder of the first open enrollment period, CMS 

and contractors continued to work on system improvements, preparing for the expected 

surge of HealthCare.gov users enrolling before the March 31, 2014, deadline. After meeting 

the improvement benchmark on December 1, 2013, CMS finalized the designation of the XOC 

in Columbia as the command center for CMS staff and contractors supporting HealthCare.gov. 

CMS developed a new and more standardized routine for monitoring the website and 

managing contracted work, with the XOC serving as the focal point for monitoring and 

coordinating systems during the remainder of the first open enrollment period. The XOC was 

staffed by CMS technical staff and contractors involved with multiple aspects of the system 

(e.g., FFM development, EIDM operations, website capacity, security), and operated 24 hours 

a day during open enrollment. The XOC also employed new monitoring tools, including an 

application monitoring tool that updates information about website functionality every 

5 seconds. These tools allowed the staff to identify problems more quickly and acquire 

baseline data to track further performance improvements. 

CMS and contractors reflected later that this period represented a shift away from “putting 

out fires” and toward establishing standard operating procedures that would give the work 

more form and structure. As during policy development in 2012–2013, CMS temporarily 

reassigned staff from other divisions to the Federal Marketplace to supplement technical and 

contractor staff. Some technical problems continued throughout the first open enrollment 

period, with another outage of EIDM in March 2014 placing incoming users in waiting rooms 

for up to 45 minutes. To better address challenges as they arose, CMS reorganized its 

management structure to create formal chains of communication for task areas such as 

eligibility and data centers to help address these concerns. CMS and contractors set up 

integrated teams, called “towers,” centered on a single project area, such as eligibility. 

CMS also more tightly coordinated changes with contractors, in particular aligning contract 

obligations to meet changing needs, what HHS refers to as “change control.” The essence of 

change control is that the contractor and agency both agree to changes in the contractor’s 

scope of work and document how those changes play out in cost and deliverables. The 

Change Control Board began meeting daily (compared to initial development, when meetings 

were infrequent and often cancelled) to review system changes, and coordinated with 

contractors to prioritize fixes that would have the highest positive impact. As a CMS technical 

official stated of the prelaunch time period, “In the beginning, we were too busy making sure 

there was even a product to launch to properly track changes. . . . [After the launch,] the

problems came from so many directions . . . we worked with the Change Control Board to 

make a list of the most important things to fix.”
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 42

CMS hired a new FFM software contractor, restructuring the FFM contract to better account 

for high-quality delivery. At the same time CMS hired QSSI as the HealthCare.gov systems 

integrator, CMS officials decided to consider other contractors to replace CGI Federal. CMS 

expedited the contracting process by issuing a “letter contract” that was awarded without a 

full and open competition. Ultimately, the letter contract was finalized into a sole source 

contract that describes justifications for other than full and open competition. The new FFM

contractor, Accenture, had experience with several State marketplaces and had previously 

built the IRS connection to the Hub. The company 

presented a proposal to CMS in December 2013 

that focused on increasing the technical discipline, 

clarity of leadership, and decisionmaking authority 

of leaders. They began work in January 2014 by

“shadowing” CGI Federal staff. CGI Federal 

officials reported that they learned of the switch 

from reading the Washington Post just days before 

Accenture’s arrival. 

The transition operated in three phases: first, CGI Federal continued in the lead role through 

February with Accenture in support; second, Accenture acted as the lead with CGI Federal in

support for March; and third, after the close of first open enrollment, Accenture fully 

performed tasks and consulted with CGI Federal as technical experts as needed. Managers 

from both contractors reported the transition went smoothly, with CGI Federal dedicated to

assisting and Accenture to learning and improving the project. Staff from both companies and 

CMS reported pressure from the public conversation. As one contractor noted, “This was the 

most visible project in the world.” Part of Accenture’s task was to refactor the software and 

institute a way of overseeing and running the project to facilitate rapid decisionmaking.

The Federal Marketplace project and development of HealthCare.gov came at a 

substantial cost financially and organizationally to CMS 

CMS met key enrollment goals for first open enrollment, but incurred higher than expected 

costs in contracts and fees paid for correcting defects. CMS ended the first open enrollment 

period with 5.4 million individuals having selected a plan through the Federal Marketplace, a 

technologically workable system (albeit with limited functionality), a clearer policy framework, 

and a stronger management structure.96 However, the attention to the Federal Marketplace 

effort (including reconstruction of the website systems and other compensatory actions 

resulting from the launch) had costs for CMS, its programs, and staff. 

CMS contract costs for the Federal Marketplace project were ultimately much higher than 

initially estimated by CMS, but the total contract amount would have been expected to rise 

from the initial allotment. CMS originally estimated the contract value for six key Federal 

Marketplace contracts to be $464 million.97 As of early 2014, CMS had updated the estimated 

value of these contracts to $824 million.98 The value more than tripled for the FFM contract 

awarded to CGI Federal, from $58 million to $207 million.99 In addition, the value for the Hub 

“We were equal partners. . . . 

We knew that we were all 

successful or no one was 

successful.” ―Accenture staff
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 43

contract more than doubled, from $69 million to $180 million. The remaining four contract 

values increased between 1 and 54 percent.100

The initial estimated value of a contract may 

increase after award for a number of reasons, 

including tasks added to the contract or 

increases in the cost of scheduled work. CMS 

reported that contract requirements changed 

during the implementation of the Federal 

Marketplace and that not all of these 

requirements were known at the time of 

award. That said, some of the increased costs were fees that CMS paid to contractors for 

correcting defects. Also, CMS’s decision to select a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with CGI 

Federal for the FFM contract under which CMS assumed the risk for cost increases meant that 

it was obligated to pay all allowable costs associated with correcting defects. Previous OIG 

work determined that from October 2013–February 2014, CMS paid CGI Federal for charges 

associated with hours worked to correct defects for work associated with the FFM contract.101 

The website breakdown and recovery effort also affected CMS staff, many of whom worked 

under high pressure for long periods or were redirected from other CMS programs. CMS staff 

in CCIIO and OIS in particular had been working long hours since receiving the Federal 

Marketplace program from HHS in 2011, working under tight deadlines on difficult aspects of

policy development and the technical build. Now in 2014, both CMS staff and contractors 

reported difficulty maintaining focus and energy. Compounding this were increased staff 

turnover and vacancies, causing a greater workload for those that remained and also a loss of

organizational knowledge and relationships. For example, as previously stated, one Director’s

position in CCIIO was filled by seven different people during our review period. 

Focus on HealthCare.gov also required CMS to redirect staff from other CMS programs. CMS 

assigned staff from other divisions to help build and repair the Federal Marketplace. CMS 

officials said this resulted in a fairly modest cost to other programs, with one senior official 

observing: “We have enough capacity to absorb extra work for a while. We were not cut to 

the bone in an organization as big as ours.” In assessing this impact, it is important to note 

that the effect of diverted staff may have been somewhat amplified by more general 

reductions in CMS staff. According to agency documentation, the number of staff in all CMS 

offices decreased by about 20 percent between 2011 and 2014, due in large part to a 

CMS-wide hiring freeze (and normal attrition, such as retirements). Whether due to diverted 

staff or overall staff reductions, CMS officials noted that fewer staff required that 

management strategically prioritize what had to be done by postponing some items. 

A sense of CMS staff fatigue is unlikely to be abated in the near future with an aggressive 

schedule for the Federal Marketplace planned through 2016. CMS staff and contractors 

reported great difficulty completing FFM-related tasks under current time and resource 

constraints and expressed concern that the prolonged high intensity work could hamper 

successful operations in the short- and long-term. CMS leadership indicated an awareness of

“We are defined by the person 

who couldn’t enroll, not the 

99 percent who could enroll.”

―CMS official
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 44

these problems and have encouraged staff to take earned leave, communicate more openly, 

and set realistic deadlines that recognize limitations. Leaders have also taken steps to

improve morale by recognizing staff who performed well in challenging positions and by 

establishing and maintaining clearer program objectives and guidance. Still, some key staff 

have left CMS or transferred out of the Federal Marketplace program to avoid the strain, and 

others reported they may do so after they feel the program is more fully established. 

Many CMS officials and staff reported in interviews that they stayed at CMS despite the large 

workload, pressure, and reassignments because they were committed to seeing a successful 

Federal Marketplace project. HHS and CMS staff reported that one of the most painful 

aspects of the post-launch fallout during the first open enrollment period was that they 

believed much of ACA implementation had gone smoothly, as had, in their view, 

nontechnological aspects of the Federal Marketplace, such as issuer participation and 

establishment of benchmarks for essential health benefits. While press reports and outside 

stakeholders appeared overwhelmingly to perceive the launch as an unacceptable failure, a 

number of CMS technical staff in interviews defended not only the correction period and 

ongoing work on the website, but also the efforts leading up to the 2013 launch. They alluded 

to the project’s difficulty, arguing that the complex technology, fixed deadline, and multiple 

systems and stakeholders would have made execution difficult for any entity responsible. 

Several CMS officials and staff members who were brought into the Federal Marketplace 

program after the launch suggested that the difficulty of the project itself was as much a 

cause of the initial website failure as poor communication and project management, believing 

that people by-and-large did their best under tough circumstances. Current CMS officials 

acknowledged CMS made major missteps, but they focused on learning from the experience 

rather than casting blame on individuals responsible. 

 The imperative 

for CMS staff was not 

the publicity and the 

embarrassment, it was 

the mission. CMS is 

accustomed to taking 

hits. We wanted to 

fulfill the mission.

–CMS official

“
Launch, Correction, & First Open Enrollment | October 2013–March 2014

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 45

KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO RECOVERY

› QUICK PIVOT to NEW STRATEGY

CMS and contractors quickly brought in new staff and expertise following the launch, developing an 

all-hands environment wherein fixing problems with HealthCare.gov was the key agency mission. Most of 

the additional staffing came to the project within 3 weeks, including technological and project management 

experts from CMS, contractors, and the private sector. Working collaboratively under new leadership, the 

team simplified processes and consolidated operations. These changes allowed CMS to make quick 

progress in identifying the source of problems and developing a strategy forward. The team demonstrated 

a strong sense of urgency to take action, and quickly accepted new work processes. The widespread

attention to the launch and the number of parties involved could have created bureaucratic paralysis, but 

those working on the repairs directed their attention to immediate action and improved the HealthCare.gov 

website substantially in 2 months.

› ADOPTION of a BADGELESS CULTURE

The enhanced team of CMS staff, contractors, and technological experts correcting problems with 

HealthCare.gov included people at all levels of CMS and contracted entities, and with varied experience on 

the project. Before the launch, artificial distinctions and divisions among staff contributed to poor 

collaboration, lack of communication, disjointed management, and slow progress. Following the launch, 

first with the technological team and then more broadly, CMS promoted a horizontal culture that was 

“badgeless” and “titleless,” meaning all of those on the Federal Marketplace project were encouraged to 

collaborate as a single team, regardless of employer or job title. CMS leadership promoted a culture 

wherein all team members could speak out about problems and develop creative solutions. In interviews, 

CMS leaders and staff later reflected that this change in culture fostered a greater sense of mission and 

teamwork that further improved daily operations.

› INTEGRATION of ALL FUNCTIONS

The Federal Marketplace needed expertise and personnel across CMS, including policy, technical, 

contracting and communications staff, as well as many contractors. Prior to the launch, some functions had 

no formal connection, despite their interdependency. Key to the correction, CMS integrated the various 

functions both operationally and technically, improving daily work and promoting the larger project mission. 

CMS assigned clear project and technical leadership, and restructured its divisions to allow for greater 

visibility and oversight of technical staff and contractors by senior leadership. This integration allowed CMS 

to identify and address problems more quickly, make informed decisions, and provide clearer direction to 

those involved in the website development and operations.

› PLANNING for PROBLEMS

CMS began to plan for and mitigate potential problems by considering contingencies, building redundant 

systems, and increasing capacity. CMS’s lack of contingency plans before the launch meant that CMS had 

few options when the functionality and computing capacity of HealthCare.gov encountered problems. 

Given limited resources, CMS leadership had to analyze past problems with HealthCare.gov and carefully 

consider how and to what extent it would develop new systems and strategies, such as enhancing training 

for call center staff. Key to success was identifying all possible problems and developing systems and 

strategies specific to the concern.
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 46

50%

Estimated Cut

from list of additional

functionality for second

open enrollment in

April 2014.

“Ruthless 

Prioritization”

is a CMS term for

determining the most 

critical elements of a 

project to be completed 

given the available 

time and budget.

“We don’t only have a better product. 

We are a better organization.” 

–CMS Official 

CHAPTER 4 

TURNAROUND & SECOND OPEN

ENROLLMENT 

April 2014–March 2015 

In April 2014, CMS turned to preparing for the next open enrollment and added 

functionality, sharply prioritizing to limit scope and focus resources 

CMS worked to limit the scope of work required for second open enrollment. By the end of the 

first open enrollment period, CMS had a stable website that functioned well at high capacity, 

but planned components had yet to be completed. CMS needed to make significant upgrades 

to the account creation, application, and plan selection subcomponents, and to complete the 

financial management system that would track effectuated (paid) enrollments and manage 

payments to issuers for Federal financial assistance and premium stabilization. The day after 

first open enrollment closed, April 1, 2014, CMS began substantive planning for the second 

open enrollment period of HealthCare.gov to occur 7 months later on November 15, 2014. 

Federal Marketplace managers from OIS, CCIIO, OC, and the Office of the [CMS] Administrator 

met in a 3-day session for what they termed “ruthless prioritization” to consider which 

elements were most important to include for the second open enrollment period and what 

funds were available. CMS leadership requested that managers provide a list of technological 

needs, then technical and business management staff evaluated the personnel, time, and 

other resources needed to complete each task. According to officials, the group debated and 

then cut about half of the items requested. 

These cuts included key elements of the Federal Marketplace system, including completion of 

the automated financial management sytem and tools for existing plan holders to reenroll. 

CMS initially planned for the automated financial management system to be completed for 

the first open enrollment period, then delayed the project to focus resources on items 

considered essential for the website’s 2013 launch. In the interim, CMS established a manual 

process to track effectuated enrollments and manage payments to issuers, which an OIG audit 

later found did not have effective internal controls in place to detect possible payment 

errors.102 In addition to cutting automated financial management, CMS cut components of 

the automated reenrollment functionality that would have redetermined the eligibility of 

existing enrollees who did not make an active plan selection on or before December 15, 2014. 
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 47

“Pens Down” is the 

term CMS used for 

signifying the final date 

for technical staff to 

make system coding 

changes.

CMS had not yet developed this component because the first open enrollment had only new 

customers and did not require reenrollment. CMS also scoped out planned website tools 

intended to help consumers make health plan purchasing decisions. 

This process for strategic and organized prioritization marked a significant improvement over 

the reprioritization meetings that occurred prior to the launch. The 2013 prelaunch 

reprioritization was performed late (August 2013, less than 2 months prior to launch), 

resulting in rushed and poorly informed decisions, and did not cut enough functionality to 

alter the negative outcome. For 2014, CMS officials and contractors allowed for more time, 

fully engaged officials from across the organization, and conducted a close examination of 

resource costs and program implications. 

Informed in part by problems in 2013, CMS set an aggressive schedule to make technical 

improvements in every area. Also in April 2014, CMS leaders went over the schedule with

Accenture, QSSI, and other key contractors to ensure adequate time for testing before second 

open enrollment. Recalling the 2013 problems with policy changes requiring changes to the 

software late in the build, CMS established a more formal process for “change management,”

the task of completing and communicating changes in policy, business requirements, and 

technical specifications. Part of this process was to bring problems to managers more quickly 

and to include more detail in technical reports and presentations. A CMS technical official 

indicated that during this time period, CMS and Accenture were still correcting coding 

problems that were not fully resolved during the recovery period after first open enrollment. 

CMS also set a firm “pens down” date of October 7, 2014, for system coding, meaning no

additional system changes were to be made other than to address problems found during 

testing. Another barrier to testing in 2013 was coordinating testing environments to provide 

enough computing and storage space to run tests. To improve this for the second open 

enrollment, CMS increased its infrastructure available for testing, and staff at the XOC worked 

in conjunction with QSSI, the systems integrator, to schedule use of testing environments 

among the CMS staff and contractors working on various pieces of the build. 

CMS also refined processes for the XOC, which was now able to shift its focus from fixing 

problems to training and establishing longer-term processes. As a CMS official at the XOC 

stated, “We tried to step away from heroics.” CMS managers conducted readiness reviews 

that identified weaknesses in the XOC’s ability to operate during open enrollment. Two key

changes resulted, both regarding leadership: CMS designated the role of the Pit Boss, a 

contracted employee who manages incidents and ensures that system changes are 

coordinated across teams; and instituted a Floor General position, a CMS employee who 

reports status and problems to a CMS Executive On Call and coordinates the XOC workflow. 

Other changes to management of XOC operations included hiring a permanent team of 

“site reliability engineers” to provide technical guidance focused on maintaining service; 

additional training, such as simulation drills to existing staff; and enhanced monitoring tools 

for “real-time” tracking of functions, such as the application process. They also coordinated 

closely with other Federal agencies, such as SSA and IRS, regarding system downtimes and 

technical changes in interrelated systems. CMS established a new Open Enrollment 
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OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 48

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER—OECC 

In September 2014, CMS created the Open Enrollment Coordination Center (OECC), an 

entity that serves as the “business version of the XOC” and operates out of the policy 

office, CCIIO. The OECC placed the communication and coordination of all project 

components into a single office with a small group of staff. The key tasks of the OECC are 

to monitor and coordinate resolution of all open enrollment issues by translating 

information to and from the policy, operations, communications, and technical teams. 

The creation of the OECC allowed the XOC to focus only on technical systems. The OECC 

works closely with the call centers that receive information from consumers and issuers 

about problems, then feeds the information back to the systems operators at the XOC. 

The OECC keeps an “open bridge” telephone line with the XOC and determines how 

consumers and issuers might be affected by technical problems. 

Coordination Center to coordinate the nontechnological aspects of open enrollment, such as 

consumer and issuer experiences, and relay information from this vantage point to the XOC to 

improve operations (see Figure 4). Overall, these enhancements strengthened CMS’s ability 

to respond to operational issues with the website. 

Figure 4: Description of Open Enrollment Coordination Center.

Second open enrollment was complicated by the need for reenrollment of existing plan holders, 

requiring new website functions and communication to consumers. As previously stated, CMS 

had to implement new technology for the second open enrollment that enabled existing plan 

holders to reenroll, either in their prior plan or a new plan by December 15, 2014.103 Existing 

plan holders could access the site to compare and consider selecting a different plan for their 

second year, but CMS officials wanted an automated reenrollment process that could also 

redetermine whether the plan holder was eligible to receive Federal financial assistance. This 

would be convenient for consumers who did not want to reapply to stay enrolled in their 

current, or equivalent, plan and continue to receive financial assistance. Auto-reenrollment 

would also reduce the number of users on the HealthCare.gov website, therefore reducing 

capacity needs, which had been such a problem during the first open enrollment period. 

Reenrollment and redetermination of existing plan holders raised other complexities beyond 

the technical development; existing plan holders would require different information from 

CMS than did new consumers. Updated regulations required the Federal Marketplace to send 

notices to all individuals who received financial assistance and describe the annual 

redetermination process for financial assistance.104 During summer 2014, CMS provided 

enrollees with the benefits of each option, (i.e., automatically reenrolling or reviewing plan 

options) by letter and email. This information explained that if a consumer’s income or 

household size had not changed, then they could choose to do nothing and HealthCare.gov 

would automatically renew their coverage. (Changes in income or household size could result 

in new monthly premium rates or changes to eligibility for financial assistance.) Several media 

reports criticized CMS for encouraging consumers to do nothing. Eventually, CMS leadership 

came to believe that consumers would be best-served by logging back into HealthCare.gov to 

Year two was

arguably tougher than

year one because of the

complexity of adding 

reenrollment. –CMS staff

“
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 49

decide whether to change plans. In October 2014, CMS revised its message on the website 

and in other materials to emphasize that consumers would benefit from updating their 

personal information on the website and reconsidering health plan options.105 

Timeframes were tight for final website improvements, but CMS execution was much improved 

in comparison to 2013. In addition to addressing the new challenge of auto-reenrollment, 

CMS made other changes, including improving the waiting room system during heavy-use 

periods. CMS also implemented changes to accommodate two States (Nevada and Oregon) 

that began using the Federal Marketplace for certain functions and one State (Idaho) that left 

the Federal Marketplace to build a State marketplace.106 (Thirty-seven States used the Federal 

Marketplace during the second open enrollment.107) Other aspects of the HealthCare.gov 

operations were still in flux weeks before the second open enrollment period, and contractors 

conducted some system testing behind the original schedule. For example, testing was 

delayed for the new function to notify issuers whether their existing plan holders would be 

automatically reenrolled in their previous health plan or chose a different plan through 

HealthCare.gov; this testing was delayed from August to October 2014, just a month before 

the second open enrollment period. To handle the additional tasks, CMS augmented its staff 

in the final weeks before second open enrollment, including adding staff to the call center and 

redirecting some technical staff from other divisions, as in 2013. 

CMS management of the project leading up to the second open enrollment period again stood 

in contrast to the 2013 launch. Project documentation indicated that in 2013, CMS and 

contractors were frantic to establish basic website functionality. As a result, they pushed 

forward faulty and untested functionality and hoped to fix it after the launch. Project 

documentation indicated that in 2014, CMS maintained a more disciplined project schedule, 

meeting deadlines with a goal to implement only technology that had what project 

documentation referred to as “perfect execution.” When this standard could not be met in

time, CMS identified problems more quickly to allow time to employ contingency plans. For 

example, the new account creation and identity verification system, SLS, was deemed unready 

in late summer 2014, so CMS and contractors re-engineered a portion of the existing system, 

EIDM, to serve as a dedicated account creation and identity verification system called 

Insurance Marketplace Authentication System (IMAS). 

One of the causes of problems with the EIDM in 2013 was that it was designed to provide 

identity management services to multiple CMS programs rather than exclusively for 

HealthCare.gov. CMS technical staff and contractors re-engineered IMAS specifically for 

HealthCare.gov so that it allowed consumers to create an account, but avoided the EIDM 

entry bottleneck. IMAS was in testing by September and complete by October 2014. CMS 

continued to develop and test the SLS, launching it in February 2015 and completing the 

transition in March 2015. CMS also deferred a new tool called Plan Compare 2.0, which was 

designed to provide a more comprehensive comparison of health plans and premiums than 

the temporary shopping tool established after the launch. CMS suspended work on Plan 

Compare 2.0 in summer 2014 to focus on what they perceived to be more critical: the new 

streamlined App 2.0 consumer application. CMS conducted a “soft launch” of App 2.0 to

special enrollment period consumers in September 2014, then used App 2.0 for all new 

App 2.0 went

into production 30 days

early so we could see it in

the wild (during special

enrollment). It was very

successful. –CMS staff

“
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 50

consumers during second open enrollment with high performance results, according to CMS 

documentation. As an illustration of improved planning and organization, CMS made the 

decision to defer a portion of Plan Compare 2.0 fully 5 months before second open enrollment 

began as compared to a decision regarding the similar “anonymous shopper” tool that CMS 

deferred 11 days prior to first open enrollment. 

CMS focused increasingly on consumer outreach and assistance, including improvements to 

the navigation and content of HealthCare.gov. Leading up to and during the second open 

enrollment period, CMS placed greater focus on expanding outreach to eligible consumers 

and to assisting consumers with enrollment. “There is less happening now on the policy side, 

so our focus can be on consumers,” explained a CCIIO official. The direction for these efforts 

was led in part by feedback CMS received from navigators and call center representatives, and 

from information gleaned by HHS and CMS officials from stakeholders such as issuers, 

community organizations, and the public. CMS OC also conducted market research to identify 

barriers to enrollment. 

Strategies differed for existing HealthCare.gov plan holders and potential new consumers. 

CMS sent existing plan holders letters, email, texts, and telephone calls to encourage 

re-review of plan options, and remind them of the auto-reenrollment process to take place on 

December 16, 2015 and other key dates. CMS also reached out directly to consumers who 

started applications on the website but left them incomplete, encouraging them to return to 

the website to purchase plans. To encourage new consumers, CMS conducted public 

enrollment events, many featuring the HHS Secretary and other officials, purchased 

advertising, and invested further in local navigators. In addition to information about the 

Federal Marketplace and HealthCare.gov, these efforts sought to address needs in consumer 

health literacy, such as instruction in health plan and coverage terminology. In interviews, 

CMS senior leadership indicated this was in part to increase enrollment in the marketplaces 

but also to improve overall public knowledge of health care and insurance, regardless of 

where it is purchased. As a senior CMS official observed, “We could be a resource for 

300 million people, not just 10 million.”

To improve the usefulness of the HealthCare.gov 

website, CMS sought to sharpen its visual 

appearance, navigation, and content. For 

example, CMS improved navigation tools to 

engage consumers to access additional 

information without leaving the home page. 

CMS also replaced question-based categories (“Am I enrolled?”) with simpler topic-based 

labels to reduce confusion. The HealthCare.gov home page also clarified what actions 

consumers could take immediately and on key future dates, and updated these instructions 

(e.g., from “Get Ready” steps prior to open enrollment to “Act Now” steps during open 

enrollment). CMS sought to improve website navigation in particular for complicated 

households, such as blended families covered in part by employer insurance or government 

programs, and added substantially to HealthCare.gov website content, including more 

thorough explanations of coverage, improved tools to compare plans, and consumer case 

Year one we

focused on fixing the

technology, for year

two we focused on the 

consumer. 

–CMS marketing staff

“

“Now that operations are stable, 

that frees us up to do more.”

―CMS consumer staff
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 51

examples. CMS also launched the SHOP website, which enables small businesses and their 

employees to browse plan offerings and enroll in coverage online, to apply for Small Business 

Health Care Tax Credits, and to obtain personalized assistance.108 

HealthCare.gov homepage encouraging consumers to get ready for the second open 

enrollment period, October 3, 2014.

CMS also sought to address prior difficulties that many consumers had regarding premium tax 

credits. CMS regional office staff reported increasing communication in 2014 to make 

consumers aware of the importance of making updates to their income estimates. Early 

external reports indicated that the income estimates of half of consumers were too low during 

the first year of enrollment and these consumers consequently owed income taxes for 2014 

following the first year of reconciling estimated to actual income.109 In interviews, a sample of 

navigators indicated that they were not equipped to field questions regarding the tax 

implications of enrollment decisions, and that CMS could have provided more information and 

guidance about tax-related issues.110,111 Also, according to the navigators, CMS did not 

provide consumers with adequate guidance about the need for consumers to update their 

income information. 

Second open enrollment operations of HealthCare.gov ran smoothly, with high use and no CMS 

system outages. The second open enrollment period began November 15, 2014, and CMS 

documentation indicated the technical aspects of the website and supporting systems 

performed well, with no system outages and few consumer reports of problems applying or

selecting plans. On the first day of second open enrollment, the website had approximately 

34,000 accounts created, approximately 60,000 applications submitted, and over 650,000 

unique visitors.112 HealthCare.gov response times were also quicker with a 3.21 second 

median time for logging in during the second open enrollment compared to 18.46 seconds 

during the first open enrollment. 113 The highest number of users on a single day to
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 52

HealthCare.gov during second open enrollment was 1.86 million,114 with capacity to support a 

high of 250,000 concurrent users without an outage. See Figure 5 for a comparison of

selected statistics for HealthCare.gov between first and second open enrollment. 

Figure 5: Comparison of selected HealthCare.gov statistics. 

CMS highlighted what it considered key successes across the first two open enrollments. A 

June 2015 analysis showed that approximately 9.9 million consumers had signed up and paid 

the premium for a health plan on HealthCare.gov or a State marketplace during second open 

enrollment, surpassing the Department’s revised projections of 9 million enrollees but falling 

short of the Congressional Budget Office’s projection of 13 million enrollees.115 During that 

same period, CMS reported that increased competition in the Federal Marketplace provided 

consumers, on average, with 25 percent more health plans to choose from while minimizing 

premium increases to 2 percent for the benchmark plan in each State used to calculate 

premium tax credits.116

Changes made by CMS during preparation for second open enrollment also focused

on longer-term improvements to the Federal Marketplace and throughout CMS 

CMS further formalized HealthCare.gov project leadership. Improved technical execution was

due in part to changes made by CMS to Federal Marketplace management. CMS continued its 

contract with QSSI as technical systems integrator in September 2014, and the CMS 

Administrator sustained daily, hands-on leadership through mid-2014. In June 2014, the 

agency hired a Principal Deputy Administrator who had served as a key contracted manager 

during the website recovery period and was knowledgeable about the project and its

responsible staff.117 The responsibilities of the position extended beyond HealthCare.gov, but 

interviews with the then-new Principal Deputy Administrator indicated a focus on

HealthCare.gov through the second open enrollment period. In August 2014, CMS hired a 

formal “Marketplace CEO,” selecting the former director of a State marketplace.118 These new 

officials, in conjunction with the CMS Administrator, coordinated Federal Marketplace tasks 

across CMS divisions responsible for various aspects of CMS’s functions, such as OIS for 
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 53

information technology, OC for communications, and OAGM for contracting. In interviews, a 

senior CMS official described this as a “re-boot” of its prior “enterprise” (organization-wide) 

management strategy that relies on sharing services across the organization and its programs. 

The CMS COO reflected that the prior enterprise strategy itself was not faulty, given the need 

for specialization across a large, complex organization, but in this case, the unclear leadership 

and communication across divisions had diminished its effectiveness, made worse by the lack 

of integration among multiple contracted entities. Other CMS officials and staff stated similar 

views, contending that the success of the enterprise structure is dependent on leaders 

managing projects globally across functions so that they can assess overall progress and 

identify gaps. 

CMS renewed its focus on contract management, particularly emphasizing the agency and 

contractor relationship. HHS and CMS changed core contracting policies that had 

compounded problems with contract management to work more closely with contractors and 

better ensure project tracking and performance. To improve its management of contracts, 

HHS instituted in April 2014 new acquisition planning guidance and is amending the HHS

Acquisition Regulation, the Department’s rules for conducting acquisitions, with the goal of 

improving efficiency and effectiveness of various phases of the acquisition process.119 CMS 

officials reported several changes to its contract procurement and oversight strategy, 

including better defining individual roles and responsibilities and transitioning to a “program 

management” structure for managing all IT-related investments, including the FFM. This 

structure requires program managers to maintain responsibility for the overall success and 

management of the IT systems that support the program.120 According to CMS, the goal of

the policy is to develop a program management culture that ensures everyone involved is

working to meet the needs of the project and organization. CMS had already addressed 

another key problem in contract management: adding to the scope of the contract 

(“unauthorized commitments”); prior to the first open enrollment period in April 2013, the 

Director of OAGM issued a guidance memorandum in response to CMS staff having modified 

the scope of contractor work without authority to do so. 

Part of CMS’s problem in managing 

contracts before the launch may have 

been a lack of understanding by CMS 

staff regarding the agency-contractor 

relationship. According to interviews 

and correspondence, some CMS staff 

were reluctant to work too closely with 

contractors for fear of violating 

Government contracting rules. For 

example, CMS staff working on the website sometimes requested that contractors not 

participate in meetings or receive information. These actions resulted in a sense that CMS 

and contractors were not a team working toward the same goals and hampered the agency 

and contractor relationships that would promote communication and progress. As one CMS 

official noted, “We had to change the mindset without changing good governance . . . [to 

“We had to change the mindset 

without changing good governance . . . 

[to emphasize that you need] good 

relationships with contractors.”

―CMS official
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 54

emphasize that you need] good relationships with contractors.” To achieve this, CMS 

leadership more clearly instructed staff who were coordinating technological work and 

supervising contracts about rules and provisions related to contracted work, and also 

instructed contractors to work more collaboratively with each other and the CMS divisions. 

For an agency in which much of the work is performed through contractors, this represented 

more of a cultural shift than a change in policy. 

Communication improved among CMS divisions as the agency focused on merging policy with 

operations, and encouraging identification of problems and sharing bad news. CMS 

management focused on better blending the policy and technical components of CMS with a 

greater sense of what CMS leaders called “the physics of operations” or “operational 

awareness.” Policymakers acquired a better understanding of the effort required to

effectuate policy decisions, both in terms of time and resources, so that those considerations 

could better inform decisionmaking. According to interviews with long-time staff members, 

CMS has always had a bifurcation between 

operations and policy, but during our report 

period, leadership appeared to be changing 

this. One long-time staff member observed: 

“[CMS] leadership now is more focused on how 

to think of the end-to-end process.”

This close interaction between CMS officials and staff also required a willingness to solicit and 

accept bad news, such as negative assessments of progress and performance. CMS officials 

recognized that they needed to actively look for problems, and CMS employed a policy of 

encouraging staff and contractors to do so. CMS staff shifted from following known processes 

to continually assessing outcomes and progress. For example, CMS identified a number of

problems in the lead-up to the second open enrollment through “deep dives,” assigning staff 

to scrutinize the performance of a specific area or function (such as eligibility) and bring to

CMS leadership their assessments of weaknesses. This approach provided a way for staff to 

move bad news to leadership and provided a more formal record of problems to better 

ensure resolution. Seeking bad news and changing course as needed takes, according to one 

CMS senior leader, “a conscious effort” with buy-in and follow-through from all levels. 

Another change in approach was to conduct financial budgeting for the Federal Marketplace 

project as a single process rather than manage separate budgets across the various CMS 

divisions and functions. Leading up to the launch of HealthCare.gov, CMS had separate 

budgets for the policy and technological work in the two key divisions of CCIIO and OIS. This 

led to confusion over which division covered which costs and responsibilities and resulted in 

inefficiencies. In preparation for the second open enrollment period, the Federal Marketplace 

budget was combined into a single process, meaning that both IT and non-IT costs and 

benefits would be more clearly assessed together, and each division better understood the 

activity of the other and potential tradeoffs for decisions and additional expenditures. As a 

CMS financial officer noted, “If the call centers needed more money, we could push back on 

some IT activities.”

“You can’t over communicate. 

Over communication is never a 

problem.” ―HHS official
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 55

CMS management focused on realistic alignment of project goals and resources, and 

straightforward measurement of outcomes to avoid “artificial progress.” Two key aspects of 

CMS’s operational strategy during this period were to more carefully align project needs with 

organizational resources and to monitor use of resources and progress more closely. CMS 

officials spoke in interviews of avoiding the prior problems of CMS staff and contractors 

working at cross-purposes and on tasks that did not clearly promote core objectives. They 

observed that the prior approach created an environment of “artificial progress” that created 

unwarranted optimism and masked problems. “[We are] outcome driven . . . [meaning] no 

hiding,” noted a CMS official. 

QSSI, the systems integrator, played a large role in increasing rigor in aligning project goals 

and resources. QSSI continually assessed project progress and weak points and connected 

with staff to resolve discrepancies or potential breakdowns. As a CMS official reflected, 

“[QSSI] lifted up the specifics to flag problems and bring them to leadership, preventing silos 

and poor communication. People don’t always want to take problems to [leadership], so the 

systems integrator did so.” CMS officials credited QSSI with easing the process of executive 

decisionmaking when decisions required the input of CMS leadership. QSSI handled much of 

the “executive reporting” function 

previously held by CMS division leaders, 

which saved time for those working on 

various pieces of the website and 

program, and also provided an easier and 

more objective method for bringing forth 

problems. 

CMS senior leadership was actively involved in daily project work for HealthCare.gov, easing 

aspects of project management but likely not sustainable over time. Another noteworthy 

difference in project management during this period was the degree to which senior CMS 

executives handled day-to-day operations for the Federal Marketplace. The CMS “C Suite” of

Administrator, Principal Deputy Administrator, COO, CIO, Chief of Staff, and other leaders 

routinely attended Federal Marketplace meetings. Senior leaders alternated as the Executive 

On Call, serving 24-hour shifts to make decisions more rapidly, regardless of the time of day. 

As a result, even specific problems reached the top; for example, an issue that concerned a 

single health plan in one State was raised to the Administrator and resolved within hours. For 

the most part, CMS staff touted the senior-level involvement as positive and welcome, 

enabling quicker decisionmaking and greater unity across divisions. CMS senior leadership 

and staff also noted that this involvement 

likely raised the sense of urgency to 

collaborate and to complete tasks timely 

and well. As one CMS official noted, “If 

people know that problems will be 

elevated to the top levels quickly, the 

incentive to reach consensus and move 

forward is very high.” 

If we have a 

challenge, we talk about 

it daily. If we have a 

really big challenge, we 

talk about it twice a day.

–CMS official

“

“People don’t always want to take 

problems to [leadership], so the 

systems integrator did so.”

―CMS official

“If people know that problems will 

be elevated to the top levels quickly, 

the incentive to reach consensus and 

move forward is very high.”

―CMS official
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 56

CMS officials reflected that there were also drawbacks to such concentrated involvement by 

senior CMS leaders and that it was likely not sustainable indefinitely. A few officials and staff 

expressed concern that CMS senior leadership had overcorrected their prior lack of 

involvement, and that continued heavy involvement could lead to a narrow focus on daily 

chores and “managing to a punch list” at the expense of broader organizational needs such as 

strategy and goal-setting. As one official stated, “We got a more granular operational 

awareness, but sometimes at the expense of a 

broader view.” CMS officials noted an awareness of 

this drawback and indicated they would reassess the 

level of senior leadership involvement as the Federal 

Marketplace system matured. As one CMS official 

reflected, “When you have the problems we had, 

you are going to see more time and depth of senior 

leadership involvement. As we move to a more 

mature program, we will see less of that.” 

CMS expects its restructuring to improve operations across the organization. CMS changed its 

organizational structure in February 2015 to improve governance (oversight of processes) and 

make more efficient use of resources. These changes included segregating IT operations and 

governance to preserve impartiality in making IT decisions, promoting shared use of services 

such as IT and contracting, and elevating the usefulness of its data analytics functions. To 

preserve impartiality in making IT decisions and governing those decisions, CMS divided two 

functions from OIS into separate groups: IT operations (e.g., networking and hardware) and 

IT governance (e.g., software architecture and security). The new Office of Technology 

Solutions is responsible for IT operations while the broader Office of Enterprise Information is 

responsible for IT governance, under the leadership of the CMS CIO. Also, CMS established an 

information security team under the CIO that monitors and tracks corrective plans for security 

vulnerabilities and ensures the plans are completed.121,122

To promote the enterprise structure and sharing use of services such as IT and contracting, 

CMS leadership formed a Strategic Planning and Management Council comprised of five 

workgroups: appeals, eligibility and enrollment, plan oversight, security and privacy, and 

workforce planning. The workgroups include leaders from each of CMS’s programs with the 

goal of mapping out operational similarities and developing opportunities to share resources. 

For example, several CMS programs, including the Federal Marketplace, provide support for 

beneficiaries, providers, and suppliers to appeal coverage and payment decisions. The 

appeals workgroup outlined similar appeals processes across programs and combined 

operations where appropriate. Finally, CMS placed its new Chief Data Officer and data 

analytics and research group within the Office of the Administrator to further integrate the 

use of data into CMS management and decisionmaking.123

Marketplace has 

quickly become an

incubator wherein we lead 

change to other areas of 

the organization. 

–CMS official

“

“We got a more granular 

operational awareness, but 

sometimes at the expense of 

a broader view.”

―CMS official
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 57

Challenges remain for CMS in operating HealthCare.gov, with public scrutiny high 

and the website and other automated functions not yet complete 

Public scrutiny of HealthCare.gov is still high, and periodic problems continue to raise concern 

from stakeholders. Public attention to the performance of HealthCare.gov diminished even 

before the start of the second open enrollment period. The website was perceived as working 

well, but criticism of the launch and the cost of recovery remains in the public dialogue. Some 

CMS officials reflected this was likely due in part to the continuing political contention over 

the ACA and marketplaces. An April 2015 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that the 

public’s opinion of the ACA remains divided, but the overall view turned favorable for the first 

time since November 2012 with 43 percent 

reporting a favorable view of the law and 

42 percent an unfavorable view. 124 The 

margin between positive and negative views 

remains slight; January 2016 results from the 

same survey indicated that overall public 

opinion turned negative again, with 44 percent 

reporting an unfavorable view and 41 percent 

a favorable view.125 

Much of the public dialogue has surrounded the extent to which Government officials and 

contractors should be held accountable for mistakes leading up to and at the launch. There 

were calls from Congress and the media for Government officials to be fired over the website 

failures. Most notably, CGI Federal lost its role as the primary contractor for the FFM.126 

Additionally, some HHS and CMS officials and staff did resign or retire following the launch, 

and others were reassigned to different positions or their responsibilities were revised. CMS 

staff reported that these changes were due to a range of factors, including differences in 

approach regarding the project’s direction and management, concerns about poor 

performance, exhaustion following the intense work leading up to and following the launch, 

and changes that occur in the normal course of business during a reorganization. CMS 

officials indicated in interviews that the fact that more CMS staff involved in the launch did 

not leave their positions immediately was due in part to CMS’s need to implement postlaunch corrections and retain already low staffing levels. 

CMS continued through 2014 to face issues related to HealthCare.gov, which led to 

substantial media interest and congressional inquiry. Most were resolved, although they likely 

led to some continued public concern about HealthCare.gov operations. For example, in 

mid-2014, a hacker breached a HealthCare.gov test server, causing CMS and observers to 

question security, although there was no known compromise of private information.127 In

another example, media discovered that CMS allowed third-party content providers, hired by 

CMS to monitor consumer use of HealthCare.gov, to share personal information of 

HealthCare.gov users with other entities.128 Although CMS contended that this was a fairly 

common practice for public websites, the agency curtailed sharing of information in response 

to the concern. Errors also continued to occur in providing enrollment and other data to 

stakeholders. The most publicized of these errors was an overstatement by the CMS 

“We are in a fishbowl. In the 

private sector, no one knows 

your mistakes, but everything we 

do is visible.” ―CMS official
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 58

Administrator in testimony to Congress in September 2014 of the number of individuals 

enrolled in health plans, an error that CMS later attributed to a staff error in interpreting the 

data. And in early 2015, the FFM sent incorrect tax forms, later corrected, to thousands of 

consumers who received tax credits, prompting the IRS to provide more time for consumers 

to file their taxes.129 These errors resulted in questions about the accuracy of HealthCare.gov 

enrollment figures overall and more stakeholder inquiry.130

CMS has not fully implemented the Federal Marketplace automated financial management 

functions. The most significant technical challenge facing CMS is completing implementation 

of the automated financial management system. CMS planned to complete the automated 

system prior to the first open enrollment period, then delayed the system’s projected 

completion date several times to prioritize other aspects of the Federal Marketplace project. 

OIG audits found that with the manual system CMS used in the interim, CMS could not 

confirm the accuracy of payments at the individual, policy-based level131 and could not ensure 

that payments are made only for enrollees who paid their premiums.132 

CMS has continued work on the automated system, now called Enrollment and Payment 

System (EPS). When fully implemented, EPS will automate all financial functions of the 

Federal Marketplace, including tracking effectuated (paid) enrollments, managing payments 

to issuers for financial assistance and premium stabilization, and managing user fees. In 

January 2016, CMS transitioned most issuers to the portion of EPS that calculates payment 

amounts and enrollment numbers, replacing the manual calculation method with a more 

precise, policy-based method.133 CMS continues to add issuers to the automated system as 

they meet the agency’s criteria for readiness to transition. The agency plans to complete the 

remaining EPS functions within 2016, hoping to make financial management of the Federal 

Marketplace more efficient and lower cost, and to improve the accuracy of payments and 

data. Even with the full automation, CMS staff acknowledged in interviews that there will 

always be some need for data reconciliation between Federal Marketplace and issuer data to 

ensure that issuers have accurate consumer information. CMS reported that it plans to 

continue conducting internal validation checks to ensure issuers submit accurate information. 

In addition to completing the website build, CMS must continue to address technical and 

operational challenges. CMS has continued to correct technical problems with the website, 

some dating back to the original 2013 framework. As with earlier problems, changes to the 

system still require development of business requirements, technical development, website 

performance and security testing, and reconfiguration of monitoring and operations, such as

website capacity. In interviews, CMS officials indicated they perceived the third cycle of open 

enrollment as the “first full enrollment period” because this is the first open enrollment 

period for which they will have 

data to predict consumer use of

the website for both first-time 

enrollees and re-enrollees. These 

estimates of website user behavior 

should allow for more precise 

measurement of needs for 

“The complexity of the systems is 

surprising. . . . You could have a Ph.D. in 

[Federal] Marketplace data file transfer.”

―CMS technology official
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 59

Source: 45 CFR § 155.410. 

website capacity and consumer support. There are other, ongoing challenges, such as 

improving the transfer of account information to issuers and consumers. As one CMS 

technology official who was new to the project noted, “The complexity of the systems is 

surprising. . . . You could have a Ph.D. in [Federal] Marketplace data file transfer.” Depending 

upon the data issue, this task is shared by CMS policy and technical staff, with CCIIO focused 

on conducting outreach and casework with issuers and consumers, and the Office of 

Technology Solutions focused on data transmittal. CMS reported that it also hopes to 

continue increasing enrollment among eligible consumers who have not purchased health 

plans. Prior to the third open enrollment period, an estimated one-third of eligible consumers 

had enrolled in health plans through the Federal or State marketplaces.134

CMS must also improve the accuracy of critical Federal Marketplace functions such as 

determining who is eligible and amounts paid to issuers. Previous OIG work based on data 

from the first open enrollment period concluded that CMS should strengthen its internal 

controls for determining eligibility for enrollment and Federal financial assistance, and for 

resolving inconsistencies in enrollment information submitted by applicants.135 In response, 

CMS reported that it works continuously to ensure that the Federal Marketplace accurately

determines eligibility and resolves inconsistencies, including making regular updates to the 

system to resolve issues. As an example, CMS created a new “pop-up” message in the 

HealthCare.gov application to encourage consumers to enter a Social Security number on the 

application, which CMS believes should decrease the number of data-matching issues from 

that of the first open enrollment. 

Open enrollment for the third coverage year of the Federal Marketplace was originally to 

begin on October 1, 2015 (see Figure 6 for open enrollment dates);136 CMS moved the start 

date by 1 month to November 1, 2015, in order to complete the build of additional 

functionality and for new issuers to submit and refine plan data. CMS also extended the end 

date of open enrollment to January 31, 2016, to provide 3 months, the same duration as the 

second open enrollment period.137 CMS plans to continue open enrollment for annual 

3-month periods, unfolding a multi-year IT approach to continue improvement, such as 

enhancing plan selection tools for consumers. 

Figure 6: Periods of first–third open enrollment for the Federal Marketplace, 2013–2016. 
Turnaround & Second Open Enrollment | April 2014–March 2015

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 60

KEY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO RECOVERY

› RUTHLESS PRIORITIZATION

Because the timeframe and resources available to prepare for the second open enrollment period were fixed, 

CMS focused on reducing scope to meet deadlines. The day after first open enrollment closed, CMS 

leadership met to employ “ruthless prioritization” of tasks to focus on the most urgent needs and 

functionality. These decisions and resulting changes were then locked down and measured for progress and 

results. CMS was not able to deliver some functionality as planned, with full automation of the financial 

management system still in development at the end of second open enrollment. Ruthless prioritization 

served, though, to align goals with the resources available, guide daily work and accountability, and temper 

unrealistic expectations about results.

› QUALITY OVER ON-TIME DELIVERY

CMS adopted a project management approach of going live with website functionality only when it could 

ensure what one CMS official called “perfect execution.” This was in contrast to the launch of 

HealthCare.gov, wherein CMS delivered what it knew was faulty functionality, planning to improve the 

website later. In the case of the new HealthCare.gov consumer application, App 2.0, delivery was tested 

through a “soft launch” prior to open enrollment. As with the prioritization process, this approach meant 

that CMS did not always deliver according to schedule. For example, CMS did not launch its new account 

creation system as planned when problems arose. CMS leaders and contractors said in interviews that this

policy of requiring optimal functioning before delivery led to improved practices overall, such as targeting 

earlier deadlines for delivery and imposing stricter testing standards.

› SIMPLIFYING PROCESSES

Large organizations are vulnerable to creating unneeded organizational structures that can cause staff to lose 

sight of project goals. During the 2013 launch of HealthCare.gov, CMS divisions, particularly policy and 

technical teams that were responsible for various pieces of the project, operated separately and did not 

communicate well with other teams. This led to delays and lack of accountability. CMS simplified both 

technical aspects of the build and the organizational structure of the agency itself by closely monitoring 

progress and results with daily reports and close communication with contractors. This made the work more 

transparent and aided in prioritizing goals, reducing the common problem of “artificial progress” that large, 

complex projects have—many parties completing tasks, but not moving forward toward the project goals. 

Reduced complexity in tasks and organizational structure made it easier for CMS to identify those responsible 

for carrying out tasks and to track progress toward goals.

› CONTINUOUS LEARNING

A culture of continuous learning encourages open communication and active monitoring of performance and 

progress, allowing for a change in course as the facts dictate. In preparation for the second open enrollment 

period, much about the HealthCare.gov project was still unfolding. For example, CMS did not know how 

much website capacity consumers would require, and it was still developing and testing new and improved 

functionality in the final weeks before open enrollment. Given that the design and proportion of the project 

was evolving, it was critical to CMS’s success that the organization continuously learn as the project 

progressed. As the HealthCare.gov project matured, CMS’s knowledge and experience became more 

concrete and its planning more effective, but the project continued to require adaptation.
CALL FOR CONTINUED PROGRESS

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 61

Does real change 

require a crisis? 

We asked this of CMS 

officials, and the general 

consensus was that 

change does not require a 

sentinel event, but that 

the website breakdown 

expedited organizational 

changes already 

underway. Still, some 

thought the high visibility 

of the breakdown was 

critical to prompting 

change, such as the CMS 

senior official who stated, 

“Sometimes an 

organization has to get a 

wake-up call.”

LESSON 1

“We need a sense of urgency without 

crisis. It is a marathon, not a sprint.” 

–CMS official 

CMS continues to face challenges in implementing the Federal Marketplace, and in improving 

operations and services provided through HealthCare.gov. As of February 1, 2016, CMS 

reported that over 9.6 million consumers had selected a health insurance plan through the 

Federal Marketplace or had their coverage automatically renewed.138 As CMS moves forward, 

challenges include improving the website and systems as planned, such as completing the 

automated financial management system and improving consumer tools to select plans. CMS 

must also continue to address areas OIG has identified in past reports as problematic or 

needing improvement, including contract oversight, the accuracy of payments and eligibility 

determinations, and information security controls. 

CMS’s experience with HealthCare.gov provides lessons for HHS and other organizations in 

navigating program implementation and change. These lessons comprise core management 

principles that, had they been applied earlier, could have avoided problems in execution. 

CMS’s use of these principles following the breakdown enabled the organization to recover 

the website and improve management and culture. 

Given CMS’s large organization and complex mission, prior management problems could 

resurface and new problems could emerge. CMS placed intense organizational focus on the 

Federal Marketplace during the recovery of the website. This level of focus will, by necessity, 

change in the face of new challenges and priorities within CMS, and inevitably officials and 

staff with key expertise and deep knowledge of the Federal Marketplace will leave CMS or the 

project. Such changes in priorities and resources reinforce the need for CMS to fully embed 

core management principles in its daily work. CMS’s continued application of these lessons 

will promote further improvement to the Federal Marketplace and also foster future success 

in managing other large projects and CMS programs.

OIG calls for CMS to continue applying lessons from the HealthCare.gov recovery in 

its management of the Federal Marketplace and broader organization 

Assign clear project leadership to provide cohesion across tasks and a comprehensive view 

of progress.

CMS’s failure to assign a project leader below the Administrator hobbled the preparation and 

launch of HealthCare.gov. Personnel across CMS were needed, including policy, technical, 

contracting and communications staff, and a range of contractors. Lack of clarity about roles 

and the absence of a clear project structure led to staff working at cross-purposes and to 

managers and leaders receiving poor and incomplete information. Clear visibility, what one of 

the ad hoc team of technical experts called “viewing through a single pane of glass,” is central 
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OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 62

LESSON 2

to leadership. This requires that leadership have a view that includes all functions, and that it 

have the authority to implement and enforce changes when needed. 

To enable this single view and authority during recovery, the CMS Administrator stepped into 

the role of Federal Marketplace leader, attending detailed briefings and making large and 

small decisions about correcting the website’s management. Later, an experienced new CMS 

Principal Deputy Administrator largely filled that role. Finally in August 2014, 3 months before 

the start of the second open enrollment period, CMS hired a Marketplace CEO to serve in that 

role and also as Director of CCIIO. The program CEO structure was unusual for CMS, but it 

answered the call for a single leader to manage across the various project operations. 

Align project and organizational strategies with the resources and expertise available. 

Sound planning for a major project begins, at its earliest stages, with an analysis of project 

needs and how best to align them with the organization and resources. In its planning stages, 

the HealthCare.gov project faced considerable challenges, including a fixed deadline and 

uncertain funding. However, in developing policy and establishing goals early in the Federal 

Marketplace project, CMS did not adequately assess the technical and operational tasks 

required. Poor early decisions included underestimating operational requirements, selecting 

technical components not previously tested on a similar scale, and not securing technology 

capable of increasing website capacity. CMS was continually correcting for problems, using 

resources to make up ground rather than move forward. 

The lack of effective planning was caused in part by project uncertainties. The Department 

invested substantial time resolving policy issues that reduced time for the website build. CMS 

reported that funding uncertainties made it difficult to determine and prioritize scope in 

contracting, in staffing, and in providing overall direction to the project. Government projects 

commonly face funding uncertainty given the nature of Federal budget decisions. Thus, it is 

imperative to develop management strategies and contingency plans to account for these 

uncertainties.

In the crisis of the recovery period, CMS prioritized getting the website functioning well 

enough to enroll consumers in time for them to gain coverage. Immediately after the first 

open enrollment period ended, CMS made a systematic effort to assess and prioritize 

operational needs, further develop contingency plans, tie policy to operations through 

establishment of the XOC and OECC, and deploy resources to meet goals for the second open 

enrollment period. CMS’s effort to align resources with needs and ruthlessly prioritize was 

critical to improving problems with HealthCare.gov. Improvement required leadership to gain 

clear and accurate information about costs and benefits, and make well-informed use of the 

limited time and resources available and embed prioritization decisions in all aspects of 

planning, execution, and measuring results.
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LESSON 3

LESSON 4

Identify and address factors of organizational culture that may affect project success. 

Developing the Federal Marketplace within CMS’s enterprise structure both helped and 

hindered the project. It was useful to gain the expertise of policy and technical staff across 

divisions, but difficult for a new program to establish the needed relationships and lines of 

communication. When the project was placed in CMS, insufficient attention was paid to the 

cultural shift required to facilitate a new type of program and development approach. CMS’s 

cultural preference for established structures, contained groups, and inflexible procedures 

was often at odds with the needs of a major technological start-up project, which required 

more creativity and flexibility. Also, divisions among CMS staff and between CMS staff and 

contractors inhibited collaboration and slowed progress.

Once CMS established clear project leadership, it made a cultural shift toward improved 

communication and transparency, quick assessment of problems, and openness to change. A 

key to success was incorporating these values in daily work, such as encouraging a badgeless, 

titleless culture that allowed CMS staff and contractors to work together regardless of their 

employer or rank, and the use of data to define results, so that information was tangible and 

objective. This horizontal structure extended to CMS leadership as officials became more 

deeply engaged with daily staff and contractor work. CMS documentation and interviews 

indicated a deliberate effort by leadership to engage with all parties, create organizational 

unity, and increase interaction between CMS leadership and staff. Maintaining this 

movement toward a more open work environment will require CMS to continually assess 

cultural factors and seek feedback from staff and other stakeholders as the project matures, 

CMS takes on new tasks, and the organization continues to evolve. 

Seek to simplify processes, particularly for projects with a high risk of failure. 

Large and complex IT projects need constant attention to simplify design and operations. 

From inception, nearly every aspect of the Federal Marketplace project was complex and the 

risk of failure was high. CMS’s missteps further complicated the project both conceptually and 

technologically. Conceptual examples included placing policy and technical staff in separate 

CMS divisions and using many contractors and subcontractors to complete aspects of the 

website build. Technological examples identified by experts included use of an unsuited, 

inefficient identity management system and an overly complex application process, as well as 

employing poor coding practices and using multiple entities to monitor different aspects of 

the website’s performance while not communicating with each other.

In contrast, CMS leadership, staff, and contractors emphasized simplicity during the recovery. 

CMS established a single, comprehensive command center with robust and accessible 

monitoring tools. CMS also simplified processes when developing new systems. For example, 

App 2.0, the new application process, reduced the maximum number of web pages required 

to submit an application from 72 to 16. The new Scalable Login System for identity 

management was built exclusively for the Federal Marketplace project and therefore did not 

need to include functionality for other purposes that had made the EIDM difficult to modify 

and repair when needed.
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LESSON 5

LESSON 6

LESSON 7

Integrate policy and technological work to promote operational awareness. 

Throughout the development of HealthCare.gov, progress was thwarted by changing policy 

and business decisions. This began in the early stages with problems and delays in issuing 

program regulations and guidance and continued as CMS policy and technical staff revisited 

decisions throughout the website build. Further, CMS policy and technical staff and 

contractors often did not communicate decisions and problems promptly, resulting in later 

complications. 

In the preparation for second open enrollment, CMS systematically determined and prioritized 

desired functionality and quantified the labor required. This led to a more even distribution of 

work with greater efficiency and less need for rework. CMS also sought to more effectively 

communicate to program staff what was required technologically to execute policy changes. 

For example, the XOC and OECC enabled policy and technical staff to identify and solve 

problems together during the second open enrollment period.

Promote acceptance of bad news and encourage staff to identify and communicate 

problems.

Key officials failed to recognize the enormity and range of problems with the HealthCare.gov 

website’s development and execution. Communication was fragmented, meaning that not all 

officials received the same information at the same time, but warnings were significant 

enough to warrant further inquiry and action. However, CMS leadership became desensitized 

to bad news. CMS’s history of overcoming problems likely increased the desensitization. 

Despite tasking multiple entities to assess the project’s status, many of whom reported 

potential failure, CMS leadership did not collectively take action or share that with the 

technical staff who might have been able to correct the problems. CMS staff who were aware 

of problems were reluctant to sound the alarm bell to leadership because they overestimated 

their ability to correct the problems and meet project deadlines. 

During the website recovery, CMS leadership and staff moved to solicit bad news from all 

levels at CMS and contractors. CMS staff and contractors were encouraged to find and 

communicate problems. More straightforward communication enabled leaders to better 

assess needs and problems. It also enabled leaders to set more practical and realistic goals for 

progress, prioritize problem areas, and to better align resources with project needs. 

Design clear strategies for disciplined execution, and continually measure progress. 

At several junctures, CMS was made aware of problems with the development of 

HealthCare.gov and attempted to take corrective action, but these efforts were largely 

unsuccessful because they were not fully executed. For example, after criticism that there 

was not clear leadership, the CMS Administrator assigned its COO to head the Federal 

Marketplace project, but the assignment was not formally announced, the position was not 

supported by clear responsibilities, and the designee had an already very large scope of 

responsibility. The action was taken, but was not executed successfully. As another example, 

several key officials and entities advised CMS to use a technical systems integrator. CMS’s 

solution was to continue serving as its own systems integrator, but it did not sufficiently 
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LESSON 8

LESSON 9

delineate or execute this role. In both cases and in other examples, CMS made decisions with 

incomplete information, inadequate execution, and insufficient monitoring of results. 

During the website recovery, CMS took steps toward establishing clearer strategies and higher 

standards for execution, and also implemented routine and objective monitoring. CMS 

rectified key deficiencies by hiring a systems integrator. CMS also revamped its organization, 

staffing, and monitoring of the website at the XOC, and created stronger lines of 

communication between responsible parties in policy, technical, and communications 

divisions. This interconnectedness and commitment to measurement led to greater 

accountability for completed tasks and a sense of shared ownership critical to execution and 

success.

Ensure effectiveness of IT contracts by promoting innovation, integration, and rigorous 

oversight. 

The most publicly discussed aspect of the HealthCare.gov launch in its aftermath may have 

been the perception that HHS and CMS did not contract and hire for the degree of 

technological expertise required for such a large and complex project. For HealthCare.gov, 

IT procurement decisions limited the number of companies that CMS solicited for contract 

proposals, and CMS may have over-specified technological approaches in the contracts that 

resulted in use of technology that was poorly matched to the project. CMS did not fully assess 

the project’s IT needs and did not strategize in a way that emphasized innovation and current 

practices; CMS’s contract management failed to assess the effectiveness of technological 

decisions, comprehensively plan for coordinating technological work across contractors, and 

sufficiently react to late and deficient products.

In contrast, in fixing the website, CMS management promoted communication and integration 

among its team of technical experts, CMS, and contracted staff. In addition, CMS redesigned 

its command center, the XOC, to implement cutting-edge monitoring tools and methods of 

detecting and resolving problems. CMS also made changes to its management and oversight 

of contracts by establishing new acquisition planning guidance that more clearly defined 

responsibilities of the CMS contracting office and staff; CMS pursued a program management 

culture that ensures that work meets the needs of the project and organization. 

Develop contingency plans that are quickly actionable, such as redundant and scalable 

systems. 

Problems with complex projects are likely inevitable, yet contingency planning for 

HealthCare.gov was almost nonexistent prior to the breakdown and was late in some aspects 

during and after the website recovery. This lack of planning meant that CMS had few options 

when HealthCare.gov failed. Contingency planning enables a realistic assessment of work to 

be completed, and better ensures meeting program objectives, despite problems. 

Contingency plans are only effective, though, if they are practical, evolve as a system matures, 

and are adequately funded for speedy approval of contract changes and other costs. 

Following the launch, CMS more rigorously prepared to mitigate potential problems by 

considering contingencies, building redundant systems, and increasing capacity. Additional 
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LESSON 10

contingency planning should include clear and actionable plans, stakeholder communication 

strategies, and also funding, given that the process for approving additional funds is often 

delayed and may not be available mid-project due to budget fluctuations. 

Promote continuous learning to allow for flexibility and changing course quickly when 

needed. 

HealthCare.gov was a novel and complex project that operated with multiple, sustained 

uncertainties. As CMS moved through development and launch of HealthCare.gov, it relied on 

an existing management and operations structure that could not easily incorporate new 

information and strategies. CMS staff and contractors continued to carry out plans made 

early in the process, and change did not begin until lack of progress on the project made the 

status quo untenable. At that point, changes were made in haste, without careful 

consideration, and too late in the process. CMS leadership neither recognized that changes 

were needed nor employed strategies to change course quickly and thoughtfully. 

Following the launch, CMS and contractors were faced with an urgent need for widespread 

and deep change to processes and technology. CMS adopted a more open culture of 

continuous learning and quicker acceptance of change, using the website breakdown as an 

inflection point to create a new path. Leaders also redefined the project scope to set more 

realistic expectations and continued to revise scope as they prepared for the second open 

enrollment period, better ensuring that staff and contractors could execute tasks effectively. 

An environment of continuous learning is especially important when course correction is so 

integral to the project results. 

AGENCY COMMENTS AND OIG RESPONSE

CMS concurred with OIG’s call for continued progress in applying the lessons that CMS 

learned from the HealthCare.gov recovery in its management of the Federal Marketplace and 

CMS’s broader organization. CMS stated that since the OIG review, it has implemented 

several initiatives to improve its management, striving to incorporate principles aligned with 

this report’s lessons learned in its culture, operations, and daily work. These principles include 

a focus on leadership and accountability, continuous reevaluation of priorities and how the 

project could be more efficient, program measurement, and a flexible and evolving IT strategy 

aligned with policy requirements. Additionally, CMS stated that it is further developing a 

culture wherein it embraces bad news to help identify and address risks. CMS notes that 

these guiding principles are likely applicable for other large organizations—private or public—

that undertake large, complex projects with limited time and resources. 
APPENDIX A

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 67

LIST OF KEY ENTITIES IN IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE, 2010–2015

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): The ACA tasked HHS to develop the Federal Marketplace.

› OCIIO—OFFICE OF CONSUMER INFORMATION AND INSURANCE OVERSIGHT: responsible for overseeing implementation

of ACA provisions related to private insurance, coordination between HHS, issuers, and other Federal and State 

partners, and development of the Federal Marketplace. OCIIO dissolved in January 2011 when HHS moved the 

Federal Marketplace project to CMS.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): In January 2011, HHS transferred responsibilities of the 

marketplaces to its largest operating division, CMS, which also administers Medicare and Medicaid.

› CCIIO—CENTER FOR CONSUMER INFORMATION AND INSURANCE OVERSIGHT: responsible for establishing Federal and 

State marketplace policies and developing business requirements for the website build. 

› OAGM—OFFICE OF ACQUISITION AND GRANTS MANAGEMENT: responsible for developing and overseeing CMS 

acquisition efforts and awarding and administering Federal Marketplace contracts.

› OC—OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS: responsible for CMS internal and external communications, including managing 

call-center operations and HealthCare.gov design and appearance.

› OIS—OFFICE OF INFORMATION SERVICES: responsible for coordinating the technical aspects of the HealthCare.gov

website build and for implementing and supporting IT needs and enterprise (organization-wide) services 

throughout CMS. During the January 2015 reorganization, CMS divided OIS responsibilities for IT operations 

(e.g., computer networks and hardware) and IT governance (e.g., software architecture and security) into two 

separate groups rather than placing both in OIS. The Office of Technology Solutions now has responsibility for 

IT operations and the Office of Enterprise Information has responsibility for IT governance.

Contractors: CMS relied extensively on contractors for most of the design, development, testing, software licensing, 

IT security, and support services in the development of the Federal Marketplace. Key contractors included:

› Accenture—ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES, LLC: responsible for developing the Federally-facilitated Marketplace 

(FFM), in January 2014, including the FFM’s three components, Eligibility and Enrollment, Financial Management, 

and Plan Management, as well as website support and operations, from January 2014–present.

› CGI Federal—CGI FEDERAL SERVICES, INC.: responsible for developing the FFM from award of the initial contract 

through the launch and early months of the first open enrollment period, September 2011–early January 2014, 

then serving as consultants to Accenture for the FFM, January–March 2014.

› QSSI—QUALITY SOFTWARE SERVICES, INC.: responsible, from September 2011–present, for developing the 

Enterprise Identity Management System (EIDM) that enables consumers to create accounts and verify their 

identities on HealthCare.gov and the Hub that routes information requests from the Federal Marketplace to other 

Federal agencies. Also became the HealthCare.gov systems integrator following the launch, from 

October 2013–October 2015.

› Terremark—TERREMARK FEDERAL GROUP, INC.: responsible, from November 2012–present, for ensuring adequate 

computing capacity and for hosting the infrastructure of large components of the Federal Marketplace, including 

the FFM and the Hub.
APPENDIX B

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 68

TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS IN CMS IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE, 2010–2015

2010 March 23 ACA signed into law

April 19 HHS created OCIIO

July 1 HHS launched HealthCare.gov Plan Finder website

2011 January 26 HHS moved Federal Marketplace from OCIIO in the Office of the Secretary into CMS

September 30 CMS hired CGI Federal to build the FFM and QSSI to build the Hub

2012 January 3 CMS notified CGI Federal of the selection of MarkLogic in a TDL

June 18 CMS hired QSSI to build the EIDM

June 28 Supreme Court upheld ACA individual mandate

September 7 TurningPoint issued first of 11 assessment reports

December 14 Deadline for States to submit plans to operate a State marketplace

2013 January 1 Deadline for CMS to approve or conditionally approve State marketplaces

March 22 CMS CIO signed 3-year ATO for the EIDM

April 30 CMS finalized HealthCare.gov application and released to States

May CMS requested CGI Federal deliver Account Lite

July 26 HealthCare.gov technical managers requested assistance from other divisions

July 30 Failed launch of Account Lite

August CMS conducted onsite review of CGI Federal and found poor management practices

August 20 CGI Federal presented snapshots of software rather than a live demonstration

August 20-23 CMS meeting to reduce scope of HealthCare.gov including CuidadoDeSalud.gov

September 6 CMS CIO signed 3-year ATO for Hub

September 20 CMS meeting to reduce scope of HealthCare.gov including anonymous shopper tool

September 26 CMS requested double computing capacity

September 27 CMS Administrator signed 6-month interim ATO for the FFM

October 1 Beginning of first open enrollment; HealthCare.gov launch

October 1–16 Government shutdown

October 24 CMS hired QSSI as technical systems integrator

December 1 CMS improved HealthCare.gov performance
APPENDIX B

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 69

2014 January 11 Accenture Federal Services began work as FFM contractor

March 12 CMS CIO signed 1-year ATO for FFM

March 31 End of first open enrollment

April 8–10 CMS meeting to prioritize elements most important to build for second open enrollment

June 20 CMS hired new Principal Deputy Administrator

August 5 CMS identified concerns at XOC

August 26 CMS hired Marketplace Chief Executive Officer

September CMS created OECC

September 7 CMS soft launch of Application 2.0 for most enrollment consumers

September 27 CMS launched IMAS

October 7 Pens Down for technical system changes; CMS began end-to-end testing of the FFM

November 15 Beginning of second open enrollment

December 16 Beginning of auto-reenrollment

2015 February CMS made substantial organizational structure changes

February 15 End of second open enrollment

February 21 CMS launched SLS

March 15–April 30 CMS provided a SEP to consumers who did not understand implications of tax penalty

June 25 Supreme Court allowed premium tax credits for insurance purchased through all marketplaces

November 1 Beginning of third open enrollment (closed January 31, 2016)

Listed Acronyms

ACA: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act IMAS: Insurance Marketplace Authentication System

ATO: Authorization to Operate OCIIO: Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight

CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services OECC: Open Enrollment Coordination Center

HHS: Department of Health and Human Services SLS: Scalable Log-In System

Hub: Data Services Hub SEP: Special Enrollment Period

EIDM: Enterprise Identity Management TDL: Technical Direction Letter

FFM: Federally-Facilitated Marketplace XOC: Exchange Operations Center
APPENDIX C

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 70

GLOSSARY OF SELECTED FEDERAL MARKETPLACE TERMS

Term Definition

Account Lite System used to create accounts in HealthCare.gov prior to the first open 

enrollment period

acquisition strategy An overall plan for satisfying the project mission in the most effective, economical, 

and timely manner

ad hoc technology team Group of technology experts recruited by the White House to help repair problems 

with HealthCare.gov after the October 1, 2013 launch

Advance Premium Tax Credit 

(APTC)

Tax credit for qualifying marketplace consumers, paid monthly to the issuer by the

Federal Government to offset a portion of the enrollee’s premium cost 

agile development Method of software development that breaks larger tasks into smaller increments 

that are then completed and tested 

Affordable Care Act (ACA) Legislation that required establishment of a health insurance exchange for each 

State

anonymous shopper tool Tool enabling consumers to view some health plan information on the 

HealthCare.gov website without creating an account 

Authorization to Operate 

(ATO)

Declaration stating publicly that the launching organization (e.g., CMS) has 

deemed functionality of a system to be sufficient and is accepting any associated 

risk to the organization’s operations or to others involved

badgeless culture Term used by CMS to signify that all CMS and contracted staff operate as a team 

regardless of their job titles or employer status

breakdown Timespan from passage of the ACA in March 2010 through the HealthCare.gov 

launch on October 1, 2013

business requirements Provisions that articulate to developers the program goals, processes, and 

functionality needed for an IT project such as a website

Change Control Board 

Group comprised of representatives across CMS divisions who review and approve 

project changes submitted by CMS staff and contractors that could alter the 

project cost, scope, or schedule of work

Contract Change Order Written order, signed by the contracting officer, directing the contractor to make a 

change that may affect the cost, scope, schedule, or other conditions of the work

CMS senior leadership

Term used to collectively describe the highest leadership in CMS, including the 

CMS Administrator, Principal Deputy Administrator, Chief of Staff, Chief Operating 

Officer and Chief Information Officer, and in some cases division Directors

concurrent users

Website-reporting measurement indicating the number of simultaneous users 

accessing a website at a given time

consumer

Individual using the HealthCare.gov website to create an account, obtain 

information about health plans, apply for Federal financial assistance, and

purchase a plan
APPENDIX C

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 71

Term Definition

Corrective Action Plan Contract management document that includes improvements required by 

contractors to meet deliverables with adequate quality and timeliness

cost-sharing reductions

Federal financial assistance for qualifying marketplace consumers that lowers 

out-of-pocket expenses for health care, including deductibles, coinsurance, and 

copayments 

cost-plus-fixed-fee contract

Type of contract that pays the contractor a prenegotiated award fee amount, 

requiring the contractor to bill as it incurs additional labor and material expenses; 

typically selected when the tasks are so uncertain that accepting a contract on the 

basis of an end product would pose undue risks for contractors, but also thought 

to provide the contractor with less incentive to control costs and provide high 

quality products

CuidadoDeSalud.gov Spanish translation of the HealthCare.gov website that operates at its own web 

address and contains separate provisions for functionality and capacity

data center Physical location containing computer servers that provide data storage and 

processing capacity for HealthCare.gov

Data Services Hub (Hub) System that routes information requests from the Federal and State marketplaces 

and Medicaid and CHIP agencies to other Federal agencies and back

effectuated enrollment Number of individuals that are enrolled in marketplace health plans and have paid 

their first month’s premiums

Enterprise Identity 

Management (EIDM)

System that enabled consumers to create accounts and verify their identities 

before they applied for Federal financial assistance and purchase a plan; used by 

CMS during first and second open enrollment of the Federal Marketplace

enterprise management 

structure

Management strategy that relies on sharing services, such as technology, financial 

management, and contracting services, across the organization and its programs

Enrollment and Payment 

System (EPS)

System designed to fully automate the financial functions of the Federal 

Marketplace, including payments to issuers for Federal financial assistance and 

premium stabilization

Exchange Operations Center 

(XOC)

Facility in Columbia, MD that serves as the primary HealthCare.gov technological 

command center, staffed by CMS and contractors to coordinate system 

development, operations, maintenance, and testing

Federal Marketplace Marketplace operated by the Federal Government for consumers in States that do 

not operate a website for residents to enroll in qualified health plans

Federally-facilitated 

Marketplace (FFM)

System that serves as the core of the Federal Marketplace system, including three 

subsystems that (1) determine consumer eligibility for health plans and Federal 

financial assistance and facilitate enrollment in health plans (Eligibility and 

Enrollment); (2) manage health plans with issuers (Plan Management); and 

(3) track and facilitate payments to issuers, including any insurance affordability 

payments (Financial Management)

functionality

Range of operations that can be performed on a computer or other system;

examples of HealthCare.gov functionality include operations that enable 

consumers to obtain information about health plans, apply for Federal financial 

assistance, and purchase a plan
APPENDIX C

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 72

Term Definition

HealthCare.gov launch Date on which CMS first opened HealthCare.gov for consumer use to enroll in 

health plans and apply for Federal financial assistance, October 1, 2013

Indefinite Delivery Indefinite 

Quantity (IDIQ) contract

Type of contract that provides for an indefinite quantity of services for a fixed time 

period and is used when the Government cannot determine above a specified 

minimum the precise quantities and/or delivery times of supplies or services that it 

will require

Insurance Marketplace 

Authentication System 

(IMAS)

Re-engineered portion of the EIDM that served as a dedicated account creation 

and identity verification system during second open enrollment

Issuers Insurance companies that offer health plans to consumers through HealthCare.gov

letter contract Written preliminary contractual agreement that authorizes a contractor to begin 

immediately manufacturing supplies or performing services

marketplace Health insurance exchange wherein individuals can obtain information about 

health plans, apply for Federal financial assistance, and purchase a plan 

Medicare Part D

CMS program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs and prescription drug 

insurance premiums for Medicare beneficiaries; Medicare Part D was implemented 

in 2006

minimum essential 

capabilities

HealthCare.gov functionality that CMS considered necessary for the first open 

enrollment period, including allowing consumers to create an account, obtain 

information about health plans, apply for Federal financial assistance, and 

purchase a plan

Model-Driven Architecture 

(MDA)

Approach to software development that uses models to automatically generate

computer code for system development; typically used in conjunction with 

developer-written code to save time and reduce human error

navigators

Individuals or organizations, funded through Federal grants, that help consumers 

enroll in health plans through the Federal Marketplace or State marketplaces, and 

provide guidance and education to raise awareness about the marketplaces

NoSQL database platform Nontraditional, document-oriented database platform that uses nontabular 

records, unlike a relational database that uses tables to store and index data

Open Enrollment 

Coordination Center (OECC)

Subgroup within CMS CCIIO created by CMS in September 2014 to monitor and 

coordinate resolution of all open enrollment issues by translating information to 

and from the policy, technology, and operations teams

open enrollment period

Period of time during which individuals may enroll in a health plan; dates included:

 First open enrollment: October 1, 2013–March 31, 2014

 Second open enrollment: November 15, 2014–February 15, 2015

 Third open enrollment: November 1, 2015–January 31, 2016

path dependency Unfounded reliance on former ways of doing things that prevents adaptation to 

new conditions

pens down Term CMS used for signifying the final date for technical staff to make system 

coding changes prior to testing
APPENDIX C

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Term Definition

Plan Finder website

Browsing website created in 2010 that provided health plan information to 

consumers but without the functionality to purchase plans or to apply for Federal 

financial assistance

qualified health plan 

(health plan)

Private health insurance plan offered through a marketplace and certified by CMS 

or States as meeting certain standards and that cover a core set of benefits, 

including doctor visits, preventive care, hospitalization, and prescriptions

rate review Analysis by experts to ensure that proposed rate increases of marketplace health 

plans by issuers are based on reasonable cost assumptions

recovery Timespan from October 1, 2013 through the end of second open enrollment

refactor Technique used to restructure existing computer software code in order to correct 

and streamline the code

reprioritization meeting Meetings held prior to the first open enrollment period in summer 2013 to further 

reduce the scope of the HealthCare.gov build to deliver only essential functionality

ruthless prioritization

Method for determining the most critical elements of a project to be completed, 

given the available time and budget; used to make dramatic cuts to the 

HealthCare.gov project scope in preparation for the second open enrollment 

period

Scalable Login System (SLS)

New account creation and authentication system created exclusively for 

HealthCare.gov to improve website performance and its ability to accommodate 

large changes in number of users (replaced EIDM)

Small Business Health 

Option Program (SHOP)

Program that provides health plan selection and enrollment for employees of 

companies with fewer than 50 full-time-equivalent workers

sole source contract

Contract used when an agency’s need for certain supplies or services is of such an 

unusual and compelling urgency that the Government would be seriously injured 

unless the agency is permitted to limit the sources from which it solicits bids or 

proposals

special enrollment period 

Time period outside of normal open enrollment period during which consumers 

who experience certain life changes or other circumstances can purchase health 

insurance

start-up

Type of work environment or culture that encourages creativity and flexibility over 

rigid management methods and an established hierarchy

State marketplace Marketplace operated by a State for its residents to obtain information about 

health plans, apply for Federal financial assistance, and purchase a plan

statement of work

Contract management document that includes contractor work to be performed; 

location of work; period of performance; schedule for completion (delivery) of 

work; applicable performance standards; and any special requirements 

(e.g., security clearances, travel)

technical direction letter

(TDL)

Technical guidance provided to a contractor that is meant to clarify, define, or give 

specific direction within the scope of the contract as written; does not result in 

changes to the cost, terms, or conditions of the contract
APPENDIX C

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 74

Term Definition

technical specifications

List of the exact functions, derived from the business requirements, that are used 

by developers to write software code that creates and supports the website

systems

technical systems integrator

Entity that coordinates operations, ensuring that those responsible for various 

technical aspects of the project communicate their activities, schedules, and needs 

to each other and that work aligns with project goals

testing environment Computing and data storage resources devoted to website system testing

towers

CMS teams that include staff and contractors from various offices working 

together regarding a particular aspect of the project

unauthorized commitment

Contract agreement that is not binding solely because the Government 

representative who made it lacked the authority to enter into that agreement on 

behalf of the Government

waiting room

Website function used when HealthCare.gov website traffic overloaded capacity; 

consumers placed in a waiting room were unable to navigate further in the 

website until website traffic had reduced

Source: HHS and CMS project management documentation and correspondence, 2015. 
APPENDIX D

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 75

COMMENTS FROM THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, OCTOBER 7, 2015 

 
APPENDIX D

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 76
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 77

This report was prepared under the direction of Kevin Golladay, Regional Inspector General for Evaluation and 

Inspections in the Dallas regional office, and Ruth Ann Dorrill, Deputy Regional Inspector General. 

Ruth Ann Dorrill served as the team leader for this study, and Ben Gaddis and Jennifer Hagen served as the lead 

analysts. Other Office of Evaluation and Inspections staff from the Dallas regional office who conducted the study 

include Amy Ashcraft, Malinda Hicks, and Jeremy Moore. Office of Counsel staff who provided support include 

Juliet Hodgkins, Elizabeth Holahan, Lonie Kim, Andrew VanLandingham, and Paul Westfall. Other OIG staff who 

provided support include Assistant Inspector General Erin Bliss, Heather Barton, Rose Folsom, Evan Godfrey, and 

Maria Maddaloni.
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 78

1

 P.L. No. 111-148 (Mar. 23, 2010), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, P.L. No. 111-152 (Mar. 30, 2010), 

collectively referred to as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

2

 Ibid. §§ 1501, 1513. 

3

 Ibid. § 1311(a), (b). 

4

 Ibid. § 1321(c). 

5

Private health insurance plans certified as meeting certain standards and covering a core set of benefits including doctor visits, preventive care, 

hospitalization, and prescriptions.

6

 ACA §§ 1401, 1402. 

7

 The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Decisions on Health Insurance Marketplaces and the Medicaid Expansion, December 17, 2015. Accessed at 

http://kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/state-decisions-for-creating-health-insurance-exchanges-and-expanding-medicaid/ on January 6, 2016. CMS, 

Hawaii: For 2016 insurance coverage, use HealthCare.gov to apply and enroll. Accessed at https://www.healthcare.gov/hawaii-2016/ on January 6, 2016. 

8

 Ibid. 

9

 ACA § 1311(c)(6)(A),(B). 

10 45 CFR § 155.410. 

11 Ibid. 

12 CMS, “Special Enrollment Period.” Accessed at https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/special-enrollment-period/ on February 12, 2016.

13 For example, it allowed those facing possible tax penalties to purchase health plans during a SEP from March 15–April 30, 2015. CMS, CMS Announces 

Special Enrollment Period for Tax Season (English and Español), February 20, 2015. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2015-Press-releases-items/2015-02-20.html on February 8, 2016. 

14 National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (June 28, 2012). 

15 King v. Burwell, 135 S. Ct. 2480 (June 25, 2015). 

16 76 Fed. Reg. 4703 (Jan. 26, 2011). 

17 HHS, HHS Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Budget in Brief. Accessed at http://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/fy2016/budget-in-brief/index.html#overview on 

August 14, 2015. 

18 ACA §§ 1411, 1412. 

19 Fox News, “26 States Join Suit Against Obama Health Law,” January 19, 2011. Accessed at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/18/states-joinobama-health-care-lawsuit-fla/ on August 14, 2015. The New York Times, “House Votes to Send Bill to Repeal Health Law to Obama’s Desk,” January 6, 

2016, Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/us/politics/house-votes-to-send-bill-to-repeal-health-law-to-obamas-desk.html?_r=0 on 

February 16, 2016. 

20 ACA § 1321. 

21 ACA § 1103. 

22 CMS, “HHS Launches New Consumer Focused Health Care Website www.HealthCare.gov,” July 1, 2010. Accessed at http://wayback.archiveit.org/3926/20131018160711/http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/07/20100701h.html# on September 14, 2015. 

23 OIG, Oversight of Private Health Insurance Submissions to the HealthCare.gov Plan Finder, OEI-03-11-00560, April 2013. 

24 75 Fed. Reg. 20364 (April 19, 2010). 

25 These regulations were often tri-department regulations issued in conjunction with other Federal agencies. 

26 45 CFR part 155 and part 156 generally describe marketplace establishment standards and functions and issuer standards and responsibilities. 

27 CMS, Technical Implementation Letters. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Technical-Implementation-Letters/ on August 14, 2015. 

28 76 Fed. Reg. 4703 (Jan. 26, 2011). 

29 The $1 billion Health Insurance Reform Implementation Fund (HIRIF) was created and funded by Section 1005 of Health Care and Education 

Reconciliation Act of 2010. 

30 Congressional Budget Office, Updated Estimates of the Effects of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, February 2014. 

Accessed at https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/45010-breakout-AppendixB.pdf on February 8, 2016. 

31 The Departments of Labor, HHS, and Treasury published joint regulations relating to group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and 

individual markets. 
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 79

32 Section 1302(b) of ACA directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to define essential health benefits. Non-grandfathered plans in the 

individual and small group markets both inside and outside of the marketplaces, Medicaid benchmark and benchmark-equivalent, and Basic Health 

Programs must cover the essential health benefits beginning in 2014. Section 1302(b)(1) provides that essential health benefits must include items and 

services within at least the following 10 categories: (1) ambulatory patient services; (2) emergency services; (3) hospitalization; (4) maternity and 

newborn care; (5) mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; (6) prescription drugs; (7) rehabilitative and 

habilitative services and devices; (8) laboratory services; (9) preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; and, (10) pediatric 

services, including oral and vision care.

33 Kaiser Health News, “Rollout Resembles Some of the Problems of Medicare Part D,” July 12, 2013. Accessed at http://khn.org/morningbreakout/health-reform-implementation-and-outreach/ on August 26, 2015.

34 CMS, CMS Fast Facts, July 2015. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/CMS-FastFacts/index.html on January 11, 2016. CMS, National Health Expenditures 2014 Highlights. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Dataand-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/highlights.pdf on January 11, 2016.

35 The White House, “President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Positions,” July 7, 2010. Accessed at 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-recess-appointments-key-administration-positions-0 on October 26, 2015. 

The White House, “President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts,” November 23, 2011. Accessed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/2011/11/23/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts on October 26, 2015.

36 ACA § 1321.

37 Office of the Governor of the State of Alabama, Press Release, Governor Bentley Declines Decision on ACA Component; Cites Lack of Proper Options & 

Information, October 1, 2012. Accessed at http://governor.alabama.gov/newsroom/2012/10/governor-bentley-declines-decision-on-aca-componentcites-lack-of-proper-options-information/ on August 21, 2015.

38 U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health, Hearing on Implementation of Health Insurance Exchanges 

and Related Provisions, September 12, 2012. Accessed at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearing-on-implementation-of-health-insurance-exchangesand-related-provisions/ on August 14, 2015.

39 78 Fed. Reg. 65046 (Oct. 30, 2013).

40 The deadline for States to submit a Blueprint application for State marketplaces was December 14, 2012. See CMS Technical Implementation Letters, 

Letter to the Governors on Exchange Blueprints, November 9, 2012. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Technical-ImplementationLetters/Downloads/exchange-blueprint-letter.pdf on August, 21, 2015.

41 OIG, CMS Did Not Always Manage and Oversee Contractor Performance for the Federal Marketplace as Required by Federal Requirements and Contract 

Terms, A-03-14-03001, September 2015. Interviews with CMS staff and CMS correspondence.

42 OIG, Federal Marketplace: Inadequacies in Contract Planning and Procurement, OEI-03-14-00230, January 2015.

43 Ibid.

44 Ibid. Although CMS’s contracting approaches were permitted under Federal regulations, its procurement decisions may have limited the number of 

qualified companies that competed for contracts and the number of technically acceptable proposals from which CMS could choose. 

45 Ibid.

46 Ibid.

47 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) § 34.004. 

48 OIG, Federal Marketplace: Inadequacies in Contract Planning and Procurement, OEI-03-14-00230, January 2015.

49 FAR § 16.306(a).

50 CMS, Active Contributors. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-InformationTechnology/SystemLifecycleFramework/downloads/ActiveContributors.pdf on August 10, 2015.

51 FAR § 1.602. See also HHS Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR), 48 CFR subpart 342.70. See also CMS, Active Contributors. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-InformationTechnology/SystemLifecycleFramework/downloads/ActiveContributors.pdf on August 10, 2015.

52 FAR §§ 1.602-2(d), 1.604.

53 FAR § 43.102(a).

54 OIG, CMS Did Not Always Manage and Oversee Contractor Performance for the Federal Marketplace as Required by Federal Requirements and Contract 

Terms, A-03-14-03001, September 2015.

55 National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 132 S. Ct. 2566 (June 28, 2012).

56 CMS’s central repository is referred to as the Collaborative Application Lifecycle Tool (CALT).

57 CGI Federal initially estimated a cost overrun of $36 million, but ultimately the overrun was $28 million. See OIG, CMS Did Not Always Manage and 

Oversee Contractor Performance for the Federal Marketplace as Required by Federal Requirements and Contract Terms, A-03-14-03001, September 2015.
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 80

58 FAR § 1.602-3(a).

59 FAR § 1.602-3. HHSAR 301.602-3.

60 78 Fed. Reg. 12834 (Feb. 25, 2013); CMS, Guidance on State Alternative Applications for Health Coverage, June 2013. Accessed at 

https://www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Downloads/SHO-06192013.pdf on January 22, 2016.

61 U.S. House of Representatives, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Security of HealthCare.gov, 

November 19, 2013.

62 Entity that coordinates operations, ensuring that those responsible for various aspects of the project communicate their activities, schedules, and 

needs to each other.

63 U.S. House of Representatives, House Energy and Commerce Committee, PPACA Implementation Failures: Answers from HHS, October 30, 2013. 

Interviews with CMS staff and CMS correspondence.

64 A Corrective Action Plan is a contract management document that includes improvements required by contractors to meet deliverables with adequate 

quality and timeliness.

65 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Reform, Behind the Curtain of the HealthCare.gov Rollout, September 17, 2014, p. iii. 

Accessed at http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Healthcare-gov-Report-Final-9-17-14.pdf on August 24, 2015.

66 CMS, Launching the Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP) Marketplace, September 26, 2013. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2013-Press-releases-items/2013-09-26.html on November 3, 2015.

67 The initial website launch date of July 1, 2013, was delayed to October 1 while CMS was still early in the process (mid-2012), but between January–

October 2013 there was no formal discussion of delay.

68 ACA § 1311(b)(1).

69 The Washington Post, “The last time the government expanded health care, it was also kind of a disaster,” October 11, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/11/the-last-time-the-government-expanded-health-care-it-was-also-kind-of-a-disaster/

on October 27, 2015. The Washington Post, “Web-Based Comparison of Prescription Plans Delayed,” October 14, 2005. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/13/AR2005101301861.html on October 27, 2015.

70 National Institute of Standards and Technology. Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems. Accessed at

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-37-rev1/sp800-37-rev1-final.pdf on January 21, 2016.

71 CMS, Office of the Chief Information Security Officer, CMS Information Security (IS) Authorization To Operate Package Guide, version 3.0, 

December 1, 2011. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-InformationTechnology/InformationSecurity/downloads/ATO_Package_Guide.PDF on August 29, 2015. Interviews with CMS staff and CMS correspondence.

72 USA Today, “Obama Adviser: Demand overwhelmed HealthCare.gov,” October 6, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/05/health-care-website-repairs/2927597/ on August 14, 2015. 

73 The White House, “Remarks by the President on the Affordable Care Act and the Government Shutdown,” October 1, 2013. Accessed at 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/10/01/remarks-president-affordable-care-act-and-government-shutdown on September 9, 2015.

74 Reuters, “Obama turns to trusted aide for ‘tech surge’ to fix healthcare website,” October 22, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/23/us-usa-healthcare-idUSBRE99K0M220131023 on January 20, 2016. HHS, “A Technology Surge for 

HealthCare.gov,” October 22, 2013. Accessed at 

http://web.archive.org/web/20140820173427/http://www.hhs.gov/digitalstrategy/blog/2013/10/technology-surge-for-healthcare-gov.html on 

February 11, 2016.

75 The technical experts recruited by the White House largely volunteered their time, but in keeping with Federal employment standards were employed 

at an hourly rate by QSSI.

76 The White House, “An Improbable Public Interest Start Up,” January 2015. Accessed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/01/21/improbablepublic-interest-start on August 14, 2015. 

77 Recording of keynote address, Velocity, “Building a Faster, Stronger Web,” September 16, 2014. Accessed at http://velocityconf.com/velocityny2014

on June 11, 2015.

78 Time, “Code Red: Nightmare Launch of HealthCare.gov and the Team that Figured Out How to Fix It.” Issue 183, no. 9. March 4, 2014. Interviews with 

CMS staff and CMS correspondence.

79 The New York Times, “From the Start, Signs of Trouble at Health Portal,” October 12, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/politics/from-the-start-signs-of-trouble-at-health-portal.html?_r=0 on October 13, 2015. The Washington Post, 

“Meet CGI Federal, the company behind the botched launch of HealthCare.gov,” October 16, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/16/meet-cgi-federal-the-company-behind-the-botched-launch-of-healthcare-gov/ on 

October 13, 2015. The Wall Street Journal, “Federal Health Site Stymied by Lack of Direction,” October 28, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304682504579158043537719338 on October 13, 2015.
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 81

80 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Examining the IRS’s Role in Implementing and Enforcing Obamacare, 

October 9, 2013. Accessed at https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/examining-irss-role-implementing-enforcing-obamacare/ on November 18, 2015. 

U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, PPACA Implementation Failures: Didn’t Know or Didn’t Disclose? October 24, 2013. 

Accessed at https://energycommerce.house.gov/hearings-and-votes/hearings/ppaca-implementation-failures-didn-t-know-or-didn-t-disclose on 

November 18, 2015. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Affordable Care Act Implementation, October 29, 2013. Accessed 

at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/UploadedFiles/102913_Tavenner_Testimony.pdf on November 18, 2015. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee 

on Energy and Commerce, PPACA Implementation Failures: Answers from HHS, October 30, 2013. Accessed at 

https://energycommerce.house.gov/hearings-and-votes/hearings/ppaca-implementation-failures-answers-hhs on November 18, 2015. U.S. Senate, 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, The Online Federal Health Insurance Marketplace: Enrollment Challenges and the Path Forward, 

November 5, 2013. Accessed at http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2013/11/t20131105.html on November 18, 2015. U.S. Senate, Committee on Finance, 

Health Insurance Exchanges: An Update from the Administration, November 6, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=3dd91089-5056-a032-5290-f158359b9247 on November 18, 2015. U.S. House of Representatives, 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Obamacare Implementation: The Rollout of HealthCare.gov, November 13, 2013. Accessed at 

https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/obamacare-implementation-rollout-healthcare-gov/ on November 18, 2015. U.S. House of Representatives, 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, Obamacare Implementation Problems: More than Just a Broken Website, November 14, 2013. Accessed at 

https://energycommerce.house.gov/hearings-and-votes/hearings/obamacare-implementation-problems-more-just-broken-website on November 18, 

2015. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Security of HealthCare.gov, November 19, 2013. Accessed at 

https://energycommerce.house.gov/hearings-and-votes/hearings/security-healthcaregov on November 18, 2015. U.S. Senate, Committee on Small 

Business and Entrepreneurship, Affordable Care Act Implementation: Examining How to Achieve a Successful Rollout of the Small Business Exchanges, 

November 20, 2013. Accessed at http://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=ba0fad5b-78ce-4c50-ad93-

ed326595eb52&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=43eb5e02-e987-4077-b9a7-

1e5a9cf28964&MonthDisplay=11&YearDisplay=2013 on November 18, 2015.

81 The Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Report from the First Year of Navigator Technical Assistance Project: Lessons Learned and Recommendations 

for the Next Year of Enrollment, October 2014. Accessed at http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2014/rwjf416166 on August 14, 

2015.

82 USA Today, “Zients: HealthCare.gov problems to be fixed in a month,” October 25, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/25/zients-update-healthcaregov-website/3187867/ on August 25, 2015. White House, 

“Statement by the President on the Affordable Care Act,” November 14, 2013. Accessed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pressoffice/2013/11/14/statement-president-affordable-care-act on February 16, 2016. 

83 Time, “Code Red: Nightmare Launch of HealthCare.gov and the Team that Figured Out How to Fix It.” Issue 183, no. 9. March 4, 2014.

84 HHS, “Progress on Capacity,” November 22, 2013. Accessed at http://wayback.archiveit.org/3909/20140515212425/http://www.hhs.gov/digitalstrategy/blog/2013/11/progress-on-capacity.html on October 14, 2015.

85 HHS, “A Direct New Path to SHOP Marketplace Coverage,” November 27, 2013. Accessed at 

http://web.archive.org/web/20150905170440/http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/blog/2013/11/direct-new-path-to-shop-marketplace.html on 

November 3, 2015.

86 CMS, HealthCare.gov Progress and Performance Report, December 1, 2013. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2013-Press-releases-items/2013-12-01.html on August 31, 2015.

87 The Washington Post, “Can HealthCare.gov actually handle 50,000 users at a time?” December 2, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/02/can-healthcare-gov-actually-handle-50000-users-at-a-time/ on October 5, 2015.

88 45 CFR § 155.410(c)(1); see also HHS Press Release, Administration takes steps to ensure Americans signing up through the marketplace have coverage 

and access to the care they need on January 1, December 12, 2013. Accessed at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/12/20131212a.html on 

August 7, 2015. See also Juliet Eilperin, “Administration Extends Enrollment Deadline Once Again,” Washington Post, Dec. 24, 2013. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/12/24/2-million-visited-healthcare-gov-on-monday-as-deadline-looms/ on August 7, 2015. 

89 HHS, ASPE, Health Insurance Marketplace: Summary Enrollment Report for the Initial Annual Open Enrollment Period, May 1, 2014. Accessed at 

http://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/76876/ib_2014Apr_enrollment.pdf on October 9, 2015.

90 An inconsistency does not mean that an applicant provided incorrect information or is receiving Federal financial assistance inappropriately.

91 OIG, Marketplaces Faced Early Challenges Resolving Inconsistencies with Applicant Data, OEI-01-14-00180, June 2014.

92 Without the ability to resolve inconsistencies, the marketplace cannot ensure that an applicant meets each of the eligibility requirements for 

enrollment in a health plan.

93 CMS reported that although not fully automated, the eligibility system was completed in May 2014 and that contractors then began processing the 

outstanding inconsistencies. CMS reported that by September 2014, they had resolved the majority of inconsistencies and sent coverage termination 

notices to the 115,000 individuals who failed to submit supporting documentation.
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 82

94 OIG, Not All of the Federally Facilitated Marketplace’s Internal Controls Were Effective in Ensuring That Individuals Were Properly Determined Eligible 

for Qualified Health Plans and Insurance Affordability Programs, A-09-14-01011, August 2015.

95 CMS concurred with OIG’s recommendation that CMS take action to improve the Federal Marketplace’s internal controls related to verifying 

applicants’ eligibility and resolving and expiring inconsistencies. CMS replied that it has an extensive resolution process in place to resolve data matching 

issues and is continuously improving and refining those processes. For example, even when a consumer is not legally required to provide a Social Security 

number (SSN), CMS highly recommends to consumers that they provide an SSN as part of the application process for everyone on the application who has 

one, since providing an SSN enables the FFM to use more efficient electronic verification processes. This should decrease the number of data matching 

issues. 

96 HHS, ASPE, Health Insurance Marketplace: Summary Enrollment Report for the Initial Annual Open Enrollment Period, May 1, 2014. Accessed at 

http://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/76876/ib_2014Apr_enrollment.pdf on October 9, 2015.

97 OIG, Federal Marketplace: Inadequacies in Contract Planning and Procurement, OEI-03-14-00230, January 2015.

98 Ibid. 

99 Ibid. These contract values do not include option years that CMS later decided not to exercise. 

100 Ibid. 

101 OIG, CMS Did not Identify All Federal Marketplace Contract Costs and Did Not Properly Validate the Amount to Withhold for Defect Resolution on the 

Principal Federal Marketplace Contract, A-03-14-03002, September 2015.

102 OIG, CMS Could Not Effectively Ensure that Advance Premium Tax Credit Payments Made Under the Affordable Care Act Were Only for Enrollees Who 

Paid their Premiums, A-02-14-02025, December 2015.

103 45 CFR § 155.410(f).

104 45 CFR § 155.335. See also CMS, Guidance on Annual Redeterminations for Coverage for 2015, June 26, 2014. Accessed at

https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Regulations-and-Guidance/Downloads/2014-0626-Guidance-on-annual-redet-option-2015-FINAL.pdf on 

September 21, 2015.

105 The Hill, “Obamacare sign-ups hit 6.4 million,” December 23, 2014. Accessed at http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/227960-obamacare-counts-64msign-ups on August 25, 2015.

106 The Washington Post, “Nevada will join federal HealthCare.gov exchange,” May 21, 2014. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/05/21/nevada-will-join-federal-healthcare-gov-exchange/ on September 10, 2015. MSNBC, 

“Oregon to ditch troubled health insurance exchange,” April 24, 2014. Accessed at http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/oregon-nevada-massachusettsmaryland-struggle-obamacare-exchanges on September 10, 2015. Kaiser Health News, “Red State Idaho Launches Its Own Obamacare Exchange,” 

November 12, 2014. Accessed at http://khn.org/news/red-state-idaho-launches-its-own-obamacare-exchange/ on September 10, 2015.

107 HHS, ASPE, Health Insurance Marketplace 2015: Average Premiums After Advance Premium Tax Credits through January 30 in 37 States Using the 

HealthCare.gov Platform, February 9, 2015. Accessed at https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/health-insurance-marketplace-2015-average-premiums-afteradvance-premium-tax-credits-through-january-30-37-states-using-healthcaregov-platform on September 10, 2015.

108 Kevin Lucas, Justin Giovannelli & Sean Miskell, “After a Slow Start, Federal Small Business Health Insurance Marketplace Offers New and Improved 

Functions.” Commonwealth Fund, February 19, 2015. Accessed at www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/blog/2015/feb/federal-shop-marketplaceoffers-new-and-improved-functions on August 13, 2015.

109 Kaiser Family Foundation, Repayments and Refunds: Estimating the Effects of 2014 Premium Tax Credit Reconciliation. Accessed at 

http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/repayments-and-refunds-estimating-the-effects-of-2014-premium-tax-credit-reconciliation/ on August 24, 2015.

110 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health, Written Testimony of John A. Koskinen, Commissioner IRS, 

September 10, 2014. See also JoAnn Volk, Sabrina Corlette, Sandy Ahn, and Tricia Brooks, The Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Report from the First 

Year of Navigator Technical Assistance Project: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for the Next Year of Enrollment, October 2014. Accessed at 

http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2014/rwjf416166 on August 14, 2015.

111 45 CFR § 155.215(b)(2).

112 Managed Healthcare, “Websites improve for second open enrollment cycle,” January 21, 2015. Accessed at 

http://managedhealthcareexecutive.modernmedicine.com/managed-healthcare-executive/news/websites-improve-second-open-enrollment-cycle on 

October 14, 2015.

113 Associated Press, “Surge in Health Law Sign-Ups,” December 16, 2014. Accessed at 

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9872c1aeec284f7490692c83cc458e97/surge-health-law-sign-ups on November 18, 2015.

114 HHS, “By the Numbers: Open Enrollment for Health Insurance,” February 2015. Accessed at 

http://web.archive.org/web/20150215101950/http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2015/02/open-enrollment-by-the-numbers.html on 

February 12, 2016.
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 83

115 CMS, June 30, 2015 Effectuated Enrollment Snapshot, June 30, 2015. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Factsheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-09-08.html on November 5, 2015. CNN, “Obamacare enrollment unlikely to meet 2015 goal,” November 10, 2014. 

Accessed at http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/10/news/economy/obamacare-enrollment-2015/ on November 5, 2015. Congressional Budget Office, 

Updated Estimates of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, February 2014. Accessed at 

https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/45010-breakout-AppendixB.pdf on November 5, 2015.

116 HHS, ASPE, Health Plan Choice and Premiums in the 2015 Health Insurance Marketplace, January 8, 2015. Accessed at 

http://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/77176/healthPremium2015.pdf on November 5, 2015.

117 CMS, Secretary Burwell announces steps to bolster management and accountability ahead of the 2015 open enrollment period, June 20, 2014. 

Accessed at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/06/20140620a.html on September 3, 2015.

118 CMS, HHS and CMS Announce New Members of the Management Team Ahead of 2015 Open Enrollment, August 26, 2014. Accessed at 

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/08/20140826b.html on September 3, 2015.

119 The HHSAR proposed rule was published on March 2, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 11265). Comments to the proposed rule closed on May 1, 2015.

120 CMS, Active Contributors. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-InformationTechnology/SystemLifecycleFramework/downloads/ActiveContributors.pdf on August 10, 2015.

121 CMS, “Office of Enterprise Information,” August 4, 2015. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/CMSLeadership/OfficeOEI.html on September 3, 2015. EC-Council, “Emery Csulak Chief Information Security Officer/Senior Privacy Official.” Accessed at 

http://ciso.eccouncil.org/ciso-events/ciso-summit-capital-region/speakers-capital-region/emery-csulak/ on September 3, 2015.

122 OIG, Health Insurance Marketplaces Generally Protected Personally Identifiable Information But Could Improve Certain Information Security Controls,

A-18-14-30011, September 2014.

123 CMS, CMS Creates New Chief Data Officer Post, November 19, 2014. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Pressreleases/2014-Press-releases-items/2014-11-19.html on September 3, 2015.

124 Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans’ Views on the ACA Hold Steady, with 43% Now Viewing it Favorably and 42% Unfavorably, April 2016. Accessed 

at http://kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-january-2016/ on February 11, 2016.

125 Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: January 2016, January 2016. Accessed at http://kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-healthtracking-poll-january-2016/ on February 11, 2016.

126 The Washington Post, “Obama Administration to End Contract with CGI Federal, Company Behind HealthCare.gov,” January 10, 2014. Accessed at 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-administration-to-end-contract-with-cgi-federal-company-behindhealthcaregov/2014/01/10/001eb05a-719e-11e3-8b3f-b1666705ca3b_story.html on September 9, 2015.

127 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Issa: CMS Head Tavenner to Testify on HealthCare.gov Woes, 

September 4, 2014. Accessed at https://oversight.house.gov/release/issa-cms-head-tavenner-testify-healthcare-gov-woes/ on September 25, 2015. 

HHS, Statement by Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on 

Affordable Care Act Implementation before Committee on Oversight and Government Reform United States House of Representatives, September 18, 

2014. Accessed at http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2014/09/t20140918.html on September 25, 2015. The Wall Street Journal, “Hacker Breached 

HealthCare.gov Insurance Site,” September 4, 2014. Accessed at http://www.wsj.com/articles/hacker-breached-healthcare-gov-insurance-site1409861043 on September 25, 2015.

128 CMS, “CMS Blog: Protecting Consumer Privacy on HealthCare.gov,” January 24, 2015. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2015-Press-releases-items/2015-01-24.html on September 25, 2015.

129 CMS, What Consumers Need to Know about Corrected Form 1095, February 20, 2015. Accessed at http://blog.cms.gov/2015/02/20/what-consumersneed-to-know-about-corrected-form-1095-as/ on September 25, 2015.

130 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Issa: Obama Administration Must Explain Padded ObamaCare 

Enrollment Figures, November 20, 2014. Accessed at https://oversight.house.gov/release/issa-obama-administration-must-explain-padded-obamacareenrollment-figures/ on September 25, 2015.

131 OIG, CMS’s Internal Controls Did Not Effectively Ensure the Accuracy of Aggregate Financial Assistance Payments Made to Qualified Health Plan Issuers 

Under the Affordable Care Act, A-02-14-02006, June 2015.

132 OIG, CMS Could Not Effectively Ensure that Advance Premium Tax Credit Payments Made Under the Affordable Care Act Were Only for Enrollees Who 

Paid their Premiums, A-02-14-02025, December 2015.

133 CMS, “Policy-Based Payments: Approach to 2016 Marketplace Payment Program Integrity, Withholding for Issuers Delayed on Policy-Based Payments 

Implementation, and Payment Adjustment for Issuers Deemed Policy-Based Payments Ready ,” December 4, 2015. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Regulations-and-Guidance/Downloads/Policy-based-Payment-Guidance.pdf on December 11, 2015. 

Correspondence with CMS Office of Legislation, February 9, 2016.

134 Kaiser Family Foundation, Marketplace Enrollment as a Share of the Potential Marketplace Population. Accessed at http://kff.org/health-reform/stateindicator/marketplace-enrollment-as-a-share-of-the-potential-marketplace-population-2015/ on August 25, 2015.
ENDNOTES

OEI-06-14-00350 HealthCare.gov: Case Study of CMS Management of the Federal Marketplace 84

135 OIG, Not All of the Federally Facilitated Marketplace’s Internal Controls Were Effective in Ensuring That Individuals Were Properly Determined Eligible 

for Qualified Health Plans and Insurance Affordability Programs, A-09-14-01011, August 2015.

136 CMS, “CMS Issues the Final HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016,” February 2, 2015. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2015-Press-releases-items/2015-02-20-4.html on September 4, 2015.

137 45 CFR § 155.410(e). CMS, “Final HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016,” February 20, 2015. Accessed at 

https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-02-20.html on September 9, 2015. CMS, “Important 

Marketplace deadlines.” Accessed at https://www.HealthCare.gov/marketplace-deadlines/2016/ on September 9, 2015.

138 CMS, Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Snapshot – Week 13, February 4, 2016. Accessed at https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/Media

ReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2016-Fact-sheets-items/2016-02-04.html on February 8, 2016.