WASHINGTON » Hawaii Health Connector officials are continuing to work with embattled information technology contractor CGI on the state’s online health insurance marketplace despite the Obama administration dropping the lead website developer Friday.
"The Hawaii Health Connector is continuing to assess and evaluate our technology needs," Connector interim Executive Director Tom Matsuda said in a statement. "We are working with all of our vendors and partners, including CGI, to ensure Hawaii residents can continue to have access to affordable, quality health plans through the Connector."
The Connector, designed to match low-income residents with subsidized health insurance, got off to a rough start after hiring CGI, missing its Oct. 1 launch date by two weeks, which made Hawaii the last state in the nation to go live with health plans on the exchange.
The federal government’s much-maligned health insurance website is getting a new outside contractor to steer the revamped portal through the remainder of open enrollment season.
The Obama administration and lead website contractor CGI Federal said Friday they had mutually agreed to part ways on HealthCare.gov. The site’s launch Oct. 1 embarrassed President Barack Obama and prompted a frantic reconstruction campaign that has improved the site’s efficiency.
Government officials had little to say.
CGI’s current contract for the federal exchanges will not be renewed after February, a person familiar with the situation said Friday. The person requested anonymity because of federal rules regarding the privacy of contractors.
Instead, the administration intends to hire Accenture, a major technology consulting company, to run the federal website serving 36 states. Hawaii and the remaining states decided to run their own exchanges that are the cornerstone of Obama’s signature health care law.
CGI spokeswoman Linda Odorisio said in a statement that the company played a key role in turning the website around and that it remains a federal contractor on other health care projects.
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Star-Advertiser reporter Kristen Consillio and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
