Friends, 

We have received more information this week on the functionality of the www.HealthCare.gov website, the challenges they continue to face, and the timeline for when it will be functioning properly, safely and consistently.  While we have been hopeful that the site would be ready by the end of November, 2013, we have reason to believe that this date may not be reached.  Here is a summary of what we know today:

The MI Health Marketplace (www.HealthCare.gov) is still not functioning properly

We have learned the following this week:

• In the spring of 2013, The administration contracted prominent business consulting group McKinsey & Co to independently assess the progress of www.HealthCare.gov and identify issues that would jeopardize the launch date of 10/01/13
• McKinsey & Co provide an assessment that the 10/01/13 launch date was fraught with risks - CLICK HERE to view the assessment documentation
• The main issues identified (from our perspective) by this assessment were as follows:
• Call centers established by CMS would not work properly if the site was not functional
• There were concerns about having enough time to test the site properly
• There were concerns about the security of the site which contains very sensitive financial data
• Chief Architect of the site Henry Chao stated that the site, as of Tuesday 11/19/13, is only about 60% to 70% completed. 
• Chief Architect of the site Henry Chao also stated that the payment function of the site that will remit subsidy payments to the insurance carriers does not currently exist

Based on what we know today, we are advising our clients to "hold off" on submitting their information through www.HealthCare.gov for the following reasons:

1. Based on the facts available today, we do not feel that the site is secure enough as it has been breached numerous times between its launch on 10/1/13 and today
2. Based on our numerous attempts to enroll our clients previously (over 100+ attempts) we have only gotten a handful of clients through the entire process
3. We have received reports from our clients that shortly after they have finalized their plan selection, they started to receive unsolicited phone calls from companies trying to sell them additional insurance products
4. Based on the facts available today, if there is no function in the site to pay subsidies to the insurance carriers we are deeply concerned about the final cost to our clients that qualify for premium assistance.

We know that many of you have tried to go through the process with our staff or even by yourself.  We know that many of you have heard of people getting through the entire process.  That being said, we are not confident that the site is functioning properly, safely, and consistently enough to justify putting your personal information at risk.  We are constantly monitoring the site and reviewing testing data to ensure that it is safe enough to utilize.  We will continue this work on your behalf until we are confident that you personal information will not be compromised and your time will not be wasted.

We sincerely appreciate your patience with this process and we will continue to keep you posted as we learn more about the progress.