The U.S. government has been experiencing a lot of problems with its healthcare website healthcare.gov and in light of the recent difficulties with the site, the Obama administration has turned to Microsoft to get the much needed help.
HealthCare.gov has been plagued with a number of technical problems that has been causing a lot of headache for American citizens. The site is the federal government's marketplace for insurance and is considered as an important component of Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act. However, the site has failed to deliver adequate services post-launch, prompting the government to announce that they will find the "best and brightest" to help fix the website.
In the case of the U.S government, the "best and brightest" seems to be Kurt DelBene, the former president of Microsoft Office. DelBene has been chosen to spearhead the efforts of fixing the HealthCare.gov website. DelBene will be replacing Jeffrey Zients and the Obama administration is hoping that he can finally put an end to the site's technical woes.
"Kurt, who most recently served as president of the Microsoft Office Division, will lead and manage HealthCare.gov starting this Wednesday. Kurt has proven expertise in heading large, complex technology teams and in product development. He will be a tremendous asset in our work," says an official government blog post.
DelBene has been brought in to manage and oversee the troubled website's communications, marketing, field operations and enrollment channels. While this is considered by many to be a tall order, the government expects to make headway before the open enrollment on the site closes this coming March 31, 2014.
Given DelBene's experience in Microsoft Office as well as his strong Washington ties, the decision to bring him in is not surprising. In fact, DelBene's wife Suzan DelBene is a congresswoman with strong ties to the Obama administration.
"I've long said that we need more people to enter public service who are focused on delivering results," said Suzan DelBene in a press statement. "Kurt has demonstrated throughout his career that he is about results, and his decision to joining the administration will be extremely valuable to their efforts to improve the website."
