Reference no: EM132199271

Between March 2010 and October 31 2013, many issues led to the schedule slippage suffered by the ACA. Most of the necessary software for the website was to be developed by external vendors. In July 2011, two vendors were chosen from 16 IT vendors who were pre-qualified: CGI Federal and QSSI. CGI was for the federal marketplace and QSSI was for the data hub. However, the contracts for the two vendors were not issued until January 2012. Additionally, another factor was that in an early spring 2013 report delivered to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius, it was noted that significant work remained and system testing would have to be delayed. Later that year when testing was conducted, several issues were revealed. Political opposition to the ACT was voiced widely, loudly, and publicly. When the Healthcare.gov website finally launched on October 1, 2013, many issues plagued the website. Customers were waiting too long for the page to load and consumers could not see insurance options. Also, there were system glitches and volume related wait times. And to make matters worse, the threatened government shutdown took place on October 1st sending home about 40,000 employees.