New Tech Worries Loom for Health Law - Some 'Back Office' Links to Insurers Remain to Be Finished

From The Wall Street Journal:

A top government technology official told Congress on Tuesday that about 30% of the federal health-insurance marketplace "is still being developed," suggesting more tough hurdles await the administration even after the consumer portion, HealthCare.gov, is mostly fixed.

Henry Chao, deputy chief information officer at the federal agency building the marketplace, said work on "back office" functions such as transferring federal subsidies to insurers is continuing even as contractors try to patch up remaining problems with the site, which is used by consumers in 36 states.

While the website is no longer paralyzed and more people are likely to sign up as the end of the year approaches, Mr. Chao's testimony raised the prospect of further hurdles in December and January.
 

He told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that the government and its contractors had focused only on what was absolutely necessary to launch HealthCare.gov on Oct. 1. That meant building a website aimed at allowing people to create an account, choose an insurance plan and learn whether they are eligible for federal subsidies to offset the cost of monthly premiums.
 

One particular challenge that remains is building a payment system to transfer those subsidies to insurance companies. Mr. Chao said those "financial management" parts of the system aren't needed right away, but officials acknowledged that they must be running by January, when insurers will be expecting the subsidies to start flowing in.