Oregon: Oracle Responsible for State's ACA Website Disaster

The data-friendly Obama Administration got a very rude awakening when ACA websites laid a series of very visible, very ugly eggs. Among the losers in this sorry episode was the state of Oregon. Ironically, as an sfgate.com article recently noted, the western state was among the ACA's first adopters. The initiative was a flop, with residents compelled to use paper applications. The tech company involved in Oregon's ACA fiasco was Oracle. Currently, Oregon state officials and Oracle are trading blame. Litigation won't be far behind.

Oracle headquarters, northern California
(Image: Wikipedia)

The Obama Administration's embrace of data-based "solutions" happens to be shared by the tech companies who most stand to benefit from such a perspective. The stunning profit potential gained from transforming Americans into a vast data bank has not been a matter of high-profile public "conversation," as some liberal media outlets like to characterize information flow. While health insurance companies had the ACA spotlight, tech companies moved in the background, getting the solid money. Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius' resignation does not change that uncomfortable fact. It's not as if Oracle, or any other tech firm, gave the money back and said "sorry."

In this case, the buyer -- the US taxpayer -- assumed all the financial risk. Do you think there's something wrong with that picture?