Top Obamacare IT Official Says 30-40 Percent of the Federal Exchange System Hasn't Been Built Yet

In a congressional hearing today, Henry Chao, the Deputy Chief
Information Officers for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, told Rep Cory Gardner (R-Co.) that 30-40 percent of
Obamacare’s Marketplace—the federal insurance exchange system that
covers 36 states—has not been built yet. 

One of the systems that hasn’t been built, apparently, is
payment processing.

“We still have to build the payment systems to make payments to
issuers in January,” Chao said, referring to the insurance
companies that issue policies.

That…seems like it might be an important element of the
exchange. 

Watch the clip below (the relevant portion starts around
3:15):

This isn’t the first time Chao has said that much of the federal
exchange system still needs to be built. In previous testimony, he
also said that the law’s reinsurance system, which backstops
insurers, has not been completed.