New Insights on Healthcare.gov – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

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But up front:

• Notes Show Obamacare Chaos: The Obama administration realized there were fundamental problems of Healthcare.gov within a week of its launch, according to more than 100 pages of “war room” notes released Tuesday by a Republican representative. Fierce Affordable Care Act critic Republican Rep. Darrell Issa released the documents, which include notes of meetings between federal officials and government contractors working to fix the website. According to the documents, administration officials realized on October 8 that the “fix is taking longer than expected and the website is shut down to carry out.” But Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator who oversaw Healthcare.gov’s creation, said Tuesday that the White House is still aiming to have 800,000 people enrolled by the end of this month, and seven million by the end of the enrollment period in March.

• IT Industry Council suddenly becomes a player in acquisition policy: Four senior TechAmerica officials, Trey Hodgkins, senior vice president global public sector, Erica McCann, manager of procurement policy, Carol Henton, vice president of state and local government division, and Pam Walker, senior director for homeland security, took similar roles with ITIC’s new IT Alliance for Public Sector organization, which will focus on technology and acquisition issues.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. The number of federal employees filing for retirement has been lower than expected for the fourth month in a row, allowing OPM to further reduce its backlog on retirement claims. For October, the number of retirement claims equaled 7,500, which was 1,000 less than expected. Federal News Radio reports that OPM has been able to reduce its backlog by more than 3,500 applications, but still is falling short of its processing goals.

2. President Obama has called for a review of federal IT procurement policies in light of the problems associated with Healthcare.gov. Spearheading this investigation is Steve VanRoekel, the federal chief information officer. Federal News Radio observes that VanRoekel will be working with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to evaluate and reform current IT procurement procedures.

3. The acting DHS inspector general, Charles Edwards, has been asked to resign from his position by senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Financial and Contracting oversight subcommittee. Edwards has allegedly used government resources to conduct personal business and permitted report findings to be modified based on “inappropriate influence,” reports the Federal Times. Despite these allegations, Edwards maintains that he is innocent and has not acted improperly.

4. Each of the military branches has had to reduce its training and maintenance activities this year as a result of sequestration-related budget cuts. As Federal News Radio reports, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently addressed this issue at an annual global security forum, warning that as sequestration continues the country must prepare for decreased military readiness in the long run.

5. GSA released today a Request for Information (RFI) on car sharing initiatives for the federal government. The agency, which manages a fleet of 200,000 federal vehicles wishes to test different strategies for sharing these cars and thereby reduce costs and improve the efficiency of the government vehicle program. GSA.gov reports that the organization will be initiating car sharing pilot programs in Washington, DC, New York, Boston, and Chicago to evaluate best practices and discover low-cost alternative transportation options.

6. The FBI has added a “Cyber’s Most Wanted” list to its traditional Most Wanted program as a means for cracking down on cyber criminal activity. NextGov observes that the FBI has also raised the reward for information on these cyber criminals. The most wanted of these individuals, Alexsey Belan, has a $100,000 reward for information resulting in his capture.

7. Congress is continuing its investigation into IT security at the Veterans Affairs Department. Part of this investigation is the evaluation of Stephen Warren, the agency’s CIO and head of its Office of Information Technology. FCW notes that Congress’ analysis of IT security issues at the VA was prompted by the recent nine security breaches that have occurred on the agency’s network.

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