RYAN: Error 404: Healthcare not found

Anytime Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any of the hundred other social media sites go down for more than 60 seconds, I am invariably notified via the other 102 social media websites. It’s always temporary and never for more than a couple hours, but it’s also apparently disastrous. However, it’s something to be expected in this age of expanding technology.

I never thought my government’s brand-new “provide health care for a couple million people” website would have similar problems. Frankly, it’s just embarrassing. However, we need to be a little bit more patient and give the government a chance to figure itself out.

Healthcare.gov launched Oct. 1 and is the first big step for implementing Obamacare. However, the website has had various technical issues, including limited testing and malfunctioning call centers if the website failed, according to a CNN article Tuesday.

These issues have plagued Obama in the media as the administration tries to fix the problems by the end of this month. According to a Health and Human Services Press Release from Nov. 13, only 106,185 Americans actually chose healthcare plans during the first month since the site went live. On Oct. 16, AP reported the details of a leaked memo, which set a goal of 500,000 enrolled in that same time period. This gap is attributed to the multitude of technical problems the website has faced.

As a quasi-experiment for this article (lab report available upon request), I decided to sign myself up for the website and see what would happen. I’m from Illinois (Chi-town REPRESENT!), so I registered in that “marketplace,” rather than the one for Massachusetts. I created my account, verified my email account, and then was met with my first “The System is down” page. Besides the questionable capitalization in the message, it wasn’t too big of a deal. I refreshed the page five minutes later, and it worked fine.

Then I hit a roadblock. I had to verify my identity before I could proceed into the actual marketplace. I provided my name, date of birth, phone number and address. Twice. For some reason the website couldn’t verify my identity, so I was directed to call a toll-free number to do it over the phone. Now as much as I love you wonderful readers, I am not about to sit on the phone for six hours to register to shop for a healthcare plan I thankfully don’t need.

The website is well-designed and easy to follow — for the most part. I don’t know if your 93-year-old grandpa who can’t work the landline would be able to handle it, but we’ll just assume that he’s an outlier. Plus, that’s what you’re there for!

So, should you care about my little experiment? It demonstrates that the website has potential. It’s not incredibly difficult to use when it’s operating properly. Of course the last part of that sentence seems to be giving the administration a bit of a hassle right now, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon the principle of the program.

I’m not saying that the Obama administration hasn’t fallen down on the job, because it very much has. According to a Reuters report released Tuesday, a consulting firm let the administration know about certain issues as early as six months prior to the website’s launch. The administration made an enormous mistake in this regard. Obamacare will either be the crowning jewel or the fatal blunder for Obama, so to overlook or ignore these extensive issues is a risky gamble.

If they cannot fix the issues quickly, Obamacare will be DOA (haha, medical joke).

This program has the power to be wildly successful and insure millions of Americans.

Mistakes have been made, but let’s give them a chance to pick up the ball. If they can fix this and make the website and program a success, the Obama administration will effectively be saving the lives of citizens across the country. I think we can all be patient for a little bit longer if it’s going to save even one person’s life.

I know what the polls say, but I don’t want people to give up on this just yet. A change this big is scary, but the payoff will be worth it in the end. Just give the government a chance to get its bearings and adjust. Worst case scenario, only 106,185 people will be newly insured. In my eyes, that’s not really a losing scenario.

I don’t know what my official, politically and research sound opinion is on Obamacare. The principle is good, but implementation is what truly matters. What I do know is that if we don’t wait, we will never know, and that is a bet I’m not willing to take.