What to really expect with Obamacare’s Nov. 30 relaunch

[DonViejo]

Here are some things to keep in mind as you wade through the histrionics surrounding the relaunch of Healthcare.gov

BRIAN BEUTLER

If you’ve been following the ongoing Healthcare.gov tragicomedy for the past two months, you’ve probably seen at least one person suggest that Nov. 30 (this Saturday!) is Obamacare’s D-Day, or that this will be the most important weekend in the law’s history, or something similarly melodramatic.

Suffice it to say, that’s a bit overblown. But it actually is a pretty important weekend for the Affordable Care Act, even if the law isn’t exactly facing a pass-or-fail proposition. So here are a few things to keep in mind as you attempt to wade through all the histrionics that you’re bound to encounter if you’re not unplugging until Monday.

We can already sort of pre-judge the progress the Obama administration has made over the past couple months by looking at what they’ve done in preparation for this weekend and beyond. And I think it’s safe to say that Obama and company are guardedly optimistic that the site will survive its grand-semi-reopening, so long as the law’s supporters do a decent job managing the flow of demand.

On the one hand, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was pretty bullish about the site’s capacity and reliability on a call with state and local elected officials Tuesday. “Don’t hesitate to recommend people go to Healthcare.gov and sign up,” she said.

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/29/what_to_really_expect_with_obamacares_nov_30_relaunch/