Kathleen Sebelius: Obamacare 'Isn't A Website, It's About Health Care And Affordable Plans'

Sebelius: Obamacare 'Isn't A Website'
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius speaks during a memorial service for her father, former Ohio governor and congressman John J. Gilligan at the Ohio Statehouse Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio. Gilligan died last week at the age of 92. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius speaks during a memorial service for her father, former Ohio governor and congressman John J. Gilligan at the Ohio Statehouse Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio. Gilligan died last week at the age of 92. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has been in hot water for the turbulent rollout of the Obamacare enrollment website, but she assured CNN's Sanjay Gupta -- who asked if she would resign -- that she's committed to completing the job.

"I think my job is to get this fully implemented and to get the website working right, and that's really what I'm focused on," Sebelius said. "I work at the pleasure of the president. He is singularly focused on making sure we deliver on this promise. That's what I'm committed to doing."

Sebelius acknowledged HealthCare.gov's rocky start, saying in its third week "it is not where we needed to be." She refused to release enrollment numbers, saying they'd come after the first month was complete, as they have with other government programs. She suggested six-month enrollment figures would better show the success of President Barack Obama's signature legislation. The website, touted by the Obama administration as a one-stop marketplace for health insurance, has been plagued with malfunctions that have prevented most visitors from shopping or enrolling.

"Why didn't they bring their A-team in in the first place?" asked Gupta. "Why are we saying, three weeks now, 'Bring your A-team into this whole occasion?'"

"We want new eyes and ears," Sebelius said. "We want to make sure that we get all the questions on the table that we get all the answers and accelerate the fix as quickly as possible."

Despite the website disaster, Sebelius echoed Obama's commitment to bringing health insurance to those who want it.

"Millions of Americans want this product. Millions of Americans have waited a very long time and we want to make sure that they at the end of the day get the health security that they want and deserve," she said.

"This isn't a website. It's about health care and affordable plans."

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