The challenge is on to debug the HealthCare.gov insurance exchange website by the end of November, according to National Public Radio.
Not only did federal officials promise the government healthcare website would be fully operational and without any of the current technical issues plaguing the site by that time, but also because December could see a sharp rise in enrollment.
Bryce Williams, managing director for exchange solutions at Towers Watson, said it's common knowledge throughout the industry that the first Monday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of insurance enrollment.
"There is an avalanche coming," Williams asserted. "People will have been thinking about this over the holidays and talking to family members, and they are going to feel an impetus to do something on that Monday; and there is going to be a huge crush."
December also marks a deadline made by the Obama administration, who moved the Dec. 1 deadline back to Dec. 23, the date people must register by to receive coverage by Jan. 1, 2014. The government, however, has crafted a self-imposed deadline of Nov. 30 for fixes to the unreliable online system, slated to handle approximately 50,000 users at once by next month, said Jeffery Zients, repairer to the website, to NPR.