Despite contentious technical issues surrounding state and federal Affordable Care Act exchange sites, the Obama administration announced more than 365,000 Americans have sought coverage through the plan, NBC reported.
The state-run sites continue to outpace the federal government's Healthcare.gov solution, with 137,204 enrollees at the federal level and 227,478 customers through state sites in the first two months. Currently, 36 states utilize Healthcare.gov and the remaining 14 states devised their own state-regulated exchange markets that offer ACA plans to residents.
The 365,000 enrollees do not include December's numbers, which have not yet been totaled.
The announcement comes on the eve of testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a Republican-led group, from Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary, according to The Washington Post. Since the federal site's beginning, GOP members have made pubic statements capitalizing on the troubled exchange portal.
Sebelius sounded skeptical and eager to launch a thorough investigation to better understand where initial problems originated and why it has taken so long to repair.
"We need a thorough review of the contractor performance and program management structure that resulted in the flawed launch of the website," Sebelius wrote in a blog post. "I am asking the inspector general to review the acquisition process, overall program management and contractor performance and payment issues related to the development and management of the HealthCare.gov website."