Emails show White House feared Obamacare website wouldn't work on Oct 1st

A top tech official for the ObamaCare exchanges said just days before the launch of the troubled health law website that people inside the White House were nervous the site would be unavailable after its launch and would be a big embarrassment, Fox News has learned. A Sept. 25 email chain from HealthCare.gov project manager Henry Chao, obtained by Fox News, suggests Obama administration officials had more fears than they let on publicly that the website would have problems before its Oct. 1 launch. In the email to a number of apparent colleagues, Chao suggests the administration should design a more palatable way to tell the public that the website was not working in case it failed after the launch, saying that such a move could help prevent the media from "just ramping up the hyperbole about hc.gov not [being] functional." The email refers to a meeting the previous day, Sept. 24, that included White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park and CMS chief Marilyn Tavenner. "When Todd Park and Marilyn was (sic) here yesterday one of the things Todd conveyed was this fear the WH has about hc.gov being unavailable," wrote Chao. He added of Park: "He will come back again and ask on 9/30 because after knowing him for the past 3+ years I can tell when he will hang on to something for a long time. Todd does have a good point and I think we should have a more comprehensive answer as to how we will ensure high availability." Chao also attached to the email an image of HealthCare.gov saying, "The system is down at the moment. We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Please try again later." A White House official tells Fox News the "fear" referenced in the email refers to warnings that glitches were likely during the rollout, as with any rollout of a major website.