Massachusetts is planning to cut ties the company that built its troubled health care website.
Many essential parts of the state’s health insurance website still don’t work even though it was supposed to be up and running six months ago. And state officials have repeatedly blamed IT company CGI for the failures.
“We don’t have the capacity for folks applying for subsidized coverage to shop and get enrolled in a health plan online, we don’t have the ability to do notices, generate health care enrollment infom” says Sarah Iselin, who was hired by Gov. Deval Patrick to oversee repairs. “We have little functionality for people applying to health care coverage. Little to none.”
Iselin says she hopes to have the website working by the fall. That’s a full year after its initial launch. The state has a $69 million contract with CGI, of which $15 million has been paid. Iselin says she’s not sure yet how much money the company will get in the end.
A statement from CGI say it has “worked tirelessly to deliver a health insurance exchange for the residents of Massachusetts.” It says the company will work with the state “to ensure a smooth transition.”