Month: April 2014
U.S. administration says midday HealthCare.gov glitch resolved
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Monday that it has resolved a glitch affecting HealthCare.gov that temporarily prevented new users from accessing application and enrollment tools around midday, as website traffic volumes surged hours before a midnight deadline to enroll in private health insurance. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
White House sees Obamacare sign-ups ‘substantially larger’ than six million
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said on Monday that it expects final enrollment numbers for private health care insurance under Obamacare in 2014 to be “substantially larger” than 6 million after a busy final weekend of in-person and online signups. “Here on the last day of enrollment, we’re looking at a number substantially larger than 6 million people enrolled,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, noting he was not sure when the government would be able to release its final enrollment figures. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
U.S. says HealthCare.gov functions unavailable to new users
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. administration said key segments of its Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, were unavailable to new users for a second time on Monday, as record numbers of people tried to access the site hours before the enrollment deadline for health insurance. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is responsible for implementing the healthcare law, said new users were unable to access HealthCare.gov’s application end enrollment tools around midday. People already in the system were able to complete the enrollment process, officials said. …
Obamacare website stalls a bit before enrollment deadline
By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The federal website for U.S. consumers to enroll in private health insurance under Obamacare ran into problems twice on Monday because of a surge of people trying to access the site hours before a midnight deadline to sign up for coverage. Technical issues that barred access to HealthCare.gov for several hours throughout the day underscored the frantic last-minute pace of an enrollment process that could determine the ultimate success or failure of the healthcare law that represents President Barack Obama's domestic policy achievement. More than 6 million people had signed up for private health coverage through the new Obamacare insurance markets by last week, surpassing a target set after a disastrous October rollout called the enrollment process into question.
Undercover shoplifting exercise is a first for Falmouth
Japanese families torn as return to Fukushima ‘hot zone’ begins
By Mari Saito TAMURA, Japan (Reuters) – People in Japan on Tuesday began their first homecomings in three years to a small area evacuated after the Fukushima disaster, but families are divided as worries about radiation and poor job prospects have kept many away. The reopening of the Miyakoji area of Tamura, a city 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Tokyo and inland from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear station, marks a tiny step for Japan as it attempts to recover from the 2011 disasters. "Many of our friends and neighbors won't come back," said Kimiko Koyama, 69, speaking on her return to the large farmhouse she had occupied for 50 years, while her husband Toshio, 72, tried to fix a television antenna on the roof. "My daughter won't bring our grandsons here because of the radiation." Miyakoji, set amid rolling hills and rice paddies, has been off-limits to most residents since March 2011, when the government ordered evacuations after a devastating earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown at the power plant on the Pacific coast about 20 km (12 miles) away.
