HHS Chipping Away At Website Snags
Too early to judge, HHS Sec Sebelius tells CNN: "While refusing to give a timetable Tuesday as to when the website will be fully operational, Sebelius insisted 'it's improving every day, and more people are getting through ... and we intend to stay at this until we open the door's wide open.' ...it's too early to call the rollout a failure, the health secretary argued. There's a long way to go for people to take advantage in person, by calling or by using the website during the open-enrollment period. When that six-month stretch is over, Sebelius said, people can make more valid judgments as to whether this part of Obamacare is a success or failure."
Rep. Paul Ryan calls for Sebelius to resign reports The Hill.
Obama taps proven fixer to oversee Obamacare website debugging. AP: "When a federal program that promised cash rebates to people who traded in their clunkers for more fuel-efficient vehicles was overrun by demand, President Barack Obama assigned Jeffrey Zients, his deputy budget director, to help eliminate the backlog. When the same thing happened with sign-ups for an updated version of the GI Bill, one designed to help the 9/11 generation of veterans get a college education, Obama again turned to Zients for help ... [And] the Obama administration announced Tuesday that the longtime management consultant will help fix the problems and turn the site into the breezy, one-stop shopping portal Obama promised it would be."
WH aides to meet with insurers today. The Hill: "The stakes are high for insurance companies, which agreed to pay new taxes under the healthcare law on the assumption that they would gain millions of new customers. HHS has not released enrollment figures so far, but health insurers have reported that only a small number of people have successfully purchased policies on the marketplaces."
Eyes On Ryan
National Journal asks if Paul Ryan can get Republicans to compromise: "Experts say the budget conference gives Ryan and Democrats a chance to fully debate fiscal policy—with at least some of that taking place before the cameras—and how Ryan plays it will matter. Some say Ryan could play more to conservatives and tea-party members in his party, an allegiance he adhered to last week and one that could further aspirations to rise in House leadership. Others say Ryan, recognizing the GOP’s plummeting standing in public polls in the wake of the shutdown, could choose to make some compromises. That position could generate grumbling from House GOP hard-liners, but may also boost Ryan’s image as someone serious about governing."
Cutting a deal may mean forgoing 2016. The Hill: "[Budget expert Stan Collender] argued Ryan will most likely decide his best choice is 'taking his ball and going home without a deal.' Cutting a real deal would mean losing the 2016 nomination but it 'is possible if Ryan decides he’d rather be Speaker or Ways and Means Committee chairman than president,' Collender said."
Tepid jobs report may keep Fed stimulus going. NYT: "The relatively weak September numbers, the subsequent fiscal showdown, the lack of available data and the economic distortions created by temporarily closing government offices are all expected to further delay the Fed’s decision to begin scaling back on some of its efforts to stimulate the economy. While the Federal Reserve has been trying to promote growth, the rest of Washington has largely been working in the opposite direction..."
Descendant of President Taft rips today's Republicans in NYT oped: "Throughout my family’s more than 170-year legacy of public service, Republicans have represented the voice of fiscal conservatism. Republicans have been the adults in the room. Yet somehow the current generation of party activists has managed to do what no previous Republicans have been able to do — position the Democratic Party as the agents of fiscal responsibility."
