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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Obamacare official apologizes for website glitches

Opening Day. The first night football game in NESCAC history. A chance to avenge a bad loss from last season. An opportunity to get a win for the first time in a long time.With so many storylines heading into the opening game of the season against Wesleyan on Saturday, one could understand if the football team's focus were drawn in many different directions. But for a Jumbos squad simply looking for a strong start to the year, concentration won't be an issue when the team heads to Middletown, Conn. for Saturday's game."This is the 2013 Tufts Jumbos, and we don't have an identity yet," head coach Jay Civetti said. "It's a chance for us to set forth this year's program. We're not bound by the past, nor can we control the future. All we can do is focus on the now, and that's Wesleyan."The mantra for the Jumbos all preseason has been to focus on Sept. 21 and the game against the Cardinals. For Tufts, the game represents a chance to establish a winning culture in the football program and get some payback for last year's 35-14 loss."Our message has been to trust your training," Civetti said. "We've spent a lot of time focusing on fundamentals....Character, fundamentals and taking care of the football is essential. That's the best chance we have."Civetti also expressed confidence in junior quarterback Jack Doll, who was recently named the starter."I trust Jack," he said. "I trust his decisions, I trust his motivation, I trust him as a person. I think he possesses great leadership qualities, and he has command, which is essential at that position."It's tough to delve into player predictions this early, with rosters at the Div. III level changing drastically from season to season. But beating a strong opponent on the road will not be easy, particularly when it's a Wesleyan team with a high-octane offense and a potent rushing attack."They have tremendous talent in the backfield," defensive coordinator Kevin Farr said, referring to Wesleyan juniors LaDarius Drew and Kyle Gibson. "They have two guys who put up a lot of yards last year on a lot of carries. But they also have balance and run play action passes, trying to get you to step up. But they have [great] talent on the perimeter, so we have to defend the whole field."Tufts has lost some key players from last season on both sides of the ball, mostly due to graduation, but the Jumbos also have a few key factors working in their favor. First off, the members of the team have come back bigger and stronger this season, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. In addition, Tufts' first-year players have impressed in the preseason and in recent intrasquad scrimmages, both from a physical standpoint and in learning the team's systems.In last year's matchup between Tufts and Wesleyan, then-junior defensive back Jake Bussani intercepted a Tufts pass on the first play of the game and set up the Cardinals' offense for a quick touchdown. From that point, Wesleyan built a 21-0 lead and never looked back."They have the best cornerback in the league," Civetti said, referring to Bussani. "They have the best team in the league on paper."This time around, a fast start will be crucial for the Jumbos, though they shouldn't have trouble getting excited for the game under the lights. Although the effects of holding a NESCAC football game at night (kickoff is at 6 p.m.) are tough to anticipate, Civetti expects it to have a limited impact on the field.Still, the matchup represents a new beginning - for the NESCAC and for the Jumbos - and a chance for every player to show what he can do. With the night kickoff on the iconic Andrus Field in the middle of the Wesleyan campus, there's no question what getting a win would mean for the entire Tufts program."The results are what they are, [and] we're not hiding from it," Farr said. "But it's about moving forward now. We've done a great job through the preseason focusing on the moment - win this play, win this drill, win this practice. We're going to tackle well, play hard, take the ball away and see what happens."

Opening Day. The first night football game in NESCAC history. A chance to avenge a bad loss from last season. An opportunity to get a win for the first time in a long time.

With so many storylines heading into the opening game of the season against Wesleyan on Saturday, one could understand if the football team's focus were drawn in many different directions. But for a Jumbos squad simply looking for a strong start to the year, concentration won't be an issue when the team heads to Middletown, Conn. for Saturday's game.

"This is the 2013 Tufts Jumbos, and we don't have an identity yet," head coach Jay Civetti said. "It's a chance for us to set forth this year's program. We're not bound by the past, nor can we control the future. All we can do is focus on the now, and that's Wesleyan."

The mantra for the Jumbos all preseason has been to focus on Sept. 21 and the game against the Cardinals. For Tufts, the game represents a chance to establish a winning culture in the football program and get some payback for last year's 35-14 loss.

"Our message has been to trust your training," Civetti said. "We've spent a lot of time focusing on fundamentals....Character, fundamentals and taking care of the football is essential. That's the best chance we have."

Civetti also expressed confidence in junior quarterback Jack Doll, who was recently named the starter.

"I trust Jack," he said. "I trust his decisions, I trust his motivation, I trust him as a person. I think he possesses great leadership qualities, and he has command, which is essential at that position."

It's tough to delve into player predictions this early, with rosters at the Div. III level changing drastically from season to season. But beating a strong opponent on the road will not be easy, particularly when it's a Wesleyan team with a high-octane offense and a potent rushing attack.

"They have tremendous talent in the backfield," defensive coordinator Kevin Farr said, referring to Wesleyan juniors LaDarius Drew and Kyle Gibson. "They have two guys who put up a lot of yards last year on a lot of carries. But they also have balance and run play action passes, trying to get you to step up. But they have [great] talent on the perimeter, so we have to defend the whole field."

Tufts has lost some key players from last season on both sides of the ball, mostly due to graduation, but the Jumbos also have a few key factors working in their favor. First off, the members of the team have come back bigger and stronger this season, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. In addition, Tufts' first-year players have impressed in the preseason and in recent intrasquad scrimmages, both from a physical standpoint and in learning the team's systems.

In last year's matchup between Tufts and Wesleyan, then-junior defensive back Jake Bussani intercepted a Tufts pass on the first play of the game and set up the Cardinals' offense for a quick touchdown. From that point, Wesleyan built a 21-0 lead and never looked back.

"They have the best cornerback in the league," Civetti said, referring to Bussani. "They have the best team in the league on paper."

This time around, a fast start will be crucial for the Jumbos, though they shouldn't have trouble getting excited for the game under the lights. Although the effects of holding a NESCAC football game at night (kickoff is at 6 p.m.) are tough to anticipate, Civetti expects it to have a limited impact on the field.

Still, the matchup represents a new beginning - for the NESCAC and for the Jumbos - and a chance for every player to show what he can do. With the night kickoff on the iconic Andrus Field in the middle of the Wesleyan campus, there's no question what getting a win would mean for the entire Tufts program.

"The results are what they are, [and] we're not hiding from it," Farr said. "But it's about moving forward now. We've done a great job through the preseason focusing on the moment - win this play, win this drill, win this practice. We're going to tackle well, play hard, take the ball away and see what happens."

Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said the website faces "complex technical issues" four weeks after it opened for enrollment.

"We know that consumers are eager to purchase this coverage. And to the millions of Americans who have attempted to use Healthcare.gov to shop and enroll in healthcare coverage, I want to apologize to you that the website has not worked as well as it should," Tavenner told a congressional hearing.



Tavenner's testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee is the Obama administration's first formal statement to Congress about the challenges facing Healthcare.gov. Tavenner's boss, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is scheduled to testify before another House oversight panel on Wednesday.

The website is a lynchpin of President Barack Obama's program to provide healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. Republicans have seized on the website's technical glitches as evidence of broader problems with the law and renewed their call for a delay in the federal mandate that most Americans obtain insurance for 2014 or pay a penalty.

At Tuesday's hearing, written testimony submitted by Tavenner, a nurse and former hospital company executive, was at odds with sworn testimony from two contractors who told the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week that CMS bears ultimate responsibility for the website's performance.

"CMS has a track record of successfully overseeing the many contractors our programs depend on to function. Unfortunately, a subset of those contracts for Healthcare.gov have not met expectations," Tavenner told the Ways and Means Committee, one of at least three Republican-controlled House panels investigating the problem-plagued debut of Obama's signature domestic policy.

Republicans have long opposed the policy because they consider it an unwarranted expansion of the federal government.

Sebelius, who has faced Republican calls for her resignation, will appear before the Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday. That panel on Tuesday posted her testimony, which was nearly identical to Tavenner's.

CONTRACTORS BLAMED CMS

Executives from the main Obamacare contractor CGI Federal and Quality Software Services Inc (QSSI), a unit of health insurer UnitedHealth Group, blamed CMS for a lack of system testing and a decision to prevent online visitors from shopping for insurance without first creating an account on the site. The last-minute change may have contributed to huge bottlenecks as millions of visitors swamped the site.

Tavenner said in her written testimony that "the initial wave of interest stressed the account service, resulting in many consumers experiencing difficulty signing up, while those who were able to sign up sometimes had problems."

QSSI also said it had concerns about performance risks related to the lack of testing and kept the agency informed throughout the project.

Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, led the Republican criticism on Tuesday.

"Frankly, three years should have been enough. And had the administration provided more forthcoming answers and shared, in a transparent manner, the reality of the challenges it was encountering in the implementation process, I suspect many of these glitches could have been avoided," Camp said.

"While a website can eventually be fixed, the widespread problems with Obamacare cannot," he said.

Representatives from Obama's Democratic Party said Republicans were determined to kill the law rather than finding solutions that would enable millions of uninsured Americans in 36 states to sign up for subsidized health coverage. Online marketplaces built by 14 states and the District of Columbia have performed more smoothly.

A "new infusion of talent" has been brought in and experts are working aggressively to diagnose parts of the website that are still experiencing problems, Tavenner said. She said more people are creating accounts.

Tavenner, 62, was confirmed for her job by the U.S. Senate in May. She had been optimistic about the rollout when questioned by lawmakers about it in April and again in August.

Obama adviser Jeffrey Zients said last week that Healthcare.gov should be fixed by the end of November. But experts say that if the administration does not get it fully up and running soon, it risks losing the interest of healthy younger adults aged 18-35 - the group the administration is relying on to keep premiums from soaring.

(Additional reporting By Susan Cornwell and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Karey Van Hall and Grant McCool)