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Letter to Sebelius: Take Control of the Message

 |  By Margaret@example.com  
   November 20, 2013

Amidst the healthcare.gov debacle, let's not lose sight of what is really important—access to affordable health insurance. Please start doing a better job of controlling your agency's message about the public's access to health insurance.



Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of HHS

Dear Secretary Sebelius:

To paraphrase Shakespeare, if ever there was a season of discontent in our nation, this is it. Almost everyone is angry, and rightly so, about the kick-off of healthcare.gov. It is one big mess and it seems as if every day brings another startling revelation.

On Monday we learned that there were signs of problems on healthcare.gov way back in April. That's when McKinsey & Company sat down with officials from the White House, along with you and CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner to discuss its report—written at the behest of the White House—about the potential shortcomings with the website. Many of which, as we all know, sadly came to fruition.

On Tuesday we were informed that now, seven weeks post-launch, technical development of the health insurance marketplace's website is still 30% – 40% incomplete.

Earlier this month we found out that amid low enrollment numbers and the defection of Tony Trenkle, chief information officer and director of the office of Information Services, the White House is "increasing its reliance on insurers" by accepting their technical help in efforts to repair" the site.

Amid all the inevitable finger pointing and the calls for heads to roll, I am worried that folks inside the Washington, DC beltway may lose sight of what is really important to those of us out here in the everyday world: access to affordable health insurance.

Madam Secretary, I have some advice for you on how to stay focused on the goal of full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act while lowering the volume on all the political chatter.

Get Sappy and Connect with Someone Who is Uninsured
Millions of Americans live without health insurance. I count myself lucky that, like you, I am covered by employer-sponsored insurance. That's the case for about 90% of Americans who are insured. But there are plenty of people—entrepreneurs, artists, the unemployed—who are depending on healthcare.gov for access to insurance.

Reach out to someone uninsured, not for some media minute, but to put a name and face on this debacle. Become Facebook friends. Make that person your touchstone as your tech teams work their way through the 600+ repairs that must be made before your new BFF can begin the online process of getting insurance.

Take Control of the Media Message
The mainstream media loves the story, true or not, of the downtrodden who have been unable to either access healthcare.gov or who have discovered that their premiums will increase. You (and I mean you personally) have to counter those stories without getting into the weeds on things like subsidies or the differences among health plans. On the surface it's all about talking points. Ask Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), or House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for tips.

Take Control of the Congressional Message
You'll recall from your testimony before the House Energy & Commerce Committee Oct. 30th, that most Republican members are not fans of healthcare reform. Several times a week I receive e-mails from the committee detailing the latest Obamacare transgressions, which apparently threaten the very soul of America.

At times it is difficult to take these lawmakers seriously, but I have to admit that their message is simple and consistent: Obamacare is bad. There are some sharp Democrats on the committee, but they each seem to be doing their own thing in terms of messaging—they do not speak with a unified voice. As a leader, you need to do a better job of controlling the message.

Stop Condoning Stupid Stuff
I have to agree with the House E&C Committee on this one. You know who Henry Chao is, right? Officially he's the deputy chief information officer and deputy director of the Office of Information Services at CMS, but you probably know him as the project manager for healthcare.gov. Seems he never saw the McKinsey study about the website problems.

At least that's what he recently told the House E&C committee: "I haven't seen that presentation…I was not given the final report." Seriously? When HHS and CMS officials arrived for the presentation, didn't anyone look around the room and ask "Where's Henry?"

Yours is not an easy job, I know. Basically you are herding disparate stakeholders toward a fundamental shift in the healthcare delivery system that will ultimately reward value not volume. Along the way you are creating new insurance marketplaces where (we hope) millions of people can access affordable healthcare.

I am disappointed with how this is all playing out because I have friends and relatives who are depending on the healthcare.gov. About a month ago I wrote a column about the health insurance exchange being a marathon not a sprint. At that time I didn't think anyone could have imagined the range and depth of problems with the website that have surfaced. In fact my sources seemed to think any glitches would be quickly resolved.

I still hope that they will be.

Sincerely,

Margaret Dick Tocknell

Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
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