The launch of HealthCare.gov — the federal health insurance exchange website mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — went live Oct. 1. So many problems plagued the site that it prompted Congress to hold hearings about it in late October, with House GOP members demanding answers from involved parties that ranged from site contractors to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Experts outlined many of these issues in the September Benefits Selling cover story “System Failure,” which predicted the project's scheduling challenges, necessary system interfaces and user experiences could lead to problems. But the scope of them went far beyond the site's inability to process complex individual applications, as evidenced by the software crashes that rendered HealthCare.gov inaccessible to users.

Not only that, but enrollment numbers recently released by HHS fell short of expectations. Nearly 27,000 people signed up for private health insurance thoruhg HealthCare.gov one month into enrollment.