7 ms·

A bunch of the folks in this article are Y Combinator or Google alumni, and we're giving a talk on Saving HealthCare.gov next Thursday in SF for anyone who's in

A bunch of the folks in this article are Y Combinator or Google alumni, and we're giving a talk on Saving HealthCare.gov next Thursday in SF for anyone who's interested: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/saving-healthcaregov-tickets-11850173187?aff=hn http://www.eventbrite.com/e/saving-healthcaregov-tickets-118... Let us know if you have questions! Or if you want to help. UPDATE: we seem to be sold out. Trying to find a larger venue. In the meantime, feel free to sign up on the waiting list and you'll get an email as soon as we find a room with more capacity.

rch 12y ago
Any chance we could live stream this in Boulder?
- brandonb 12y ago
  Unfortunately we're not doing any recordings -- it's hard to be candid and recorded for all history at the same time. :(
  - protomyth 12y ago
    You're talking about a government website and not recording? I am a little worried that you don't think you can be candid about what is being done with our tax money.
    - srj 12y ago
      I imagine recording a discussion is particularly stifling when it pertains to government contracted work. In government it's all about how blame should be assigned and not about moving forward productively.
  - yeukhon 12y ago
    If you can't get professional to record the event, just launch a Google Hangout broadcast on the speaker's computer so the sldie is recorded, add a microphone to him/her under $20 and you good to go. If the speaker is close to the computer just use the built-in microphone.
  - angersock 12y ago
    It's not hard, it just requires honesty and integrity. Check's already cashed, right?
  - enjo 12y ago
    This is an absolutely baffling comment. Particularly for a community (hackers) that value openness and transparency above pretty much all else. What in the world are you talking about, to a general public audience, that can't be heard by the rest of the world?
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
    - dangrossman 12y ago
      This is a highly politicized topic. Recording/streaming the event makes it very easy to take an out-of-context soundbite and turn it into a media story that actively hurts their ongoing efforts to improve the marketplace. They may want to keep the TV cameras out for the same reason they're not present in just about any kind of political discussion/negotiation; by the time anyone in government is speaking to media, the private discussions that crafted their story have already taken place. You really can't be candid when there are influential people looking to pick apart everything you say.
      - Bill_Dimm 12y ago
        Recording/streaming the event makes it very easy to take an out-of-context soundbite... I would have concluded the exact opposite. Making a full recording available allows any attempt to quote part the meeting out of context discoverable and provable. Without a recording, anyone that attends the meeting could jot down a quote that serves their purpose and report it without anyone being able to dispute the context (aside from relying on the memories of other attendees).
        msie 12y ago
        Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Once a juicy soundbite makes the news rounds, a release of the full-recording isn't going to change anyone's mind.
    - abstractbill 12y ago
      YC talks aren't recorded, for similar reasons. When you know every word you say will be potential fodder for a sensationalist news story, it's harder to be blunt about what went right and wrong.
  - iamdave 12y ago
    Define: "Hard". Technologically "hard" or Politically "hard" ?
    - wutbrodo 12y ago
      Do you really think that the presenters haven't figured out video recording? It's obviously the latter.
  - rhizome 12y ago
    Understandable. It's only the face and future of public heath security for the nation, there's no real reason why everybody should know what's going on behind the scenes.
  - itbeho 12y ago
    Is that called "transparency"[1]? [1] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOp...
  - rch 12y ago
    I understand your concern, but how about just a similarly controlled space in Boulder? There are a few to choose from, each with adequate equipment and personnel.
austinhutch 12y ago
So cool! Just got my ticket.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
quaunaut 12y ago
Damn, what luck. Gonna be in town just for next week, I definitely must attend this.
pdeuchler 12y ago
Not to start a political flame war, but... How do you, as technologically savvy people who are in a better position than most to understand the grave transgressions of the NSA, reconcile your support of an administration that has shown complete disregard for our privacy and civil liberties (specifically within the scope of the NSA/Snowden scandal) with your inherent duty, as an engineer of powerful systems, to above all further the public good? As a subtext, what are your thoughts on continuing to further said administration's political aims in one arena while they restrict your rights and livelihood* in another? Furthermore, and more on topic, what steps have you taken to place privacy concerns at the forefront when creating a service that consumes vast amounts of personal and medical information from millions of people? Last, as someone who has been "on the inside" do you see corruption as a large problem with government procurement? To what extent did corruption create the situation that you were called in to fix with the original HealthCare.gov fiasco? *assuming, of course, that the NSA/Snowden revelations have hurt US tech interests Edit: Mods, if you disapprove of this comment feel free to delete it. That said, I think these are some important questions that need to be asked.
- ianstallings 12y ago
  But how would you ever make government better without getting involved? I mean unless you are talking about scrapping the existing system and replacing it, you must be involved in order to change it.
- lhc- 12y ago
  While I can see huge ethical concerns were this project related to the NSA, I don't think you can necessarily force that association here. While I agree with your frustration with the administration, especially with regards to surveillance and civil rights, I also would like to see the ACA do well and lead to a better life for most Americans. I don't think its wrong to want to work on solving this problem (healthcare) while disagreeing with other actions of the government, as the above poster is working on something that will directly help millions of americans. I see improving healthcare as a separate issue from the NSA scandals, and I think that, in refusing to help with fixing healthcare.gov, you are harming millions of poor and needy Americans without actually accomplishing much of anything.
rak 12y ago
Could you please consider posting videos of the talk? A local group on software engineering did a talk I could not attend but I am interested.
nhebb 12y ago
Did you redesign it from scratch or were you able to leverage any existing code? Were the original developers developing against a (mostly) static spec, or were the terms constantly being changed up until October of last year? Are there any plans to carry this forward and redesign some of the state exchanges?
- hy3lxs 12y ago
  Mostly from scratch. Cannot speak directly to experience of original developers, but I could see moving target as being an issue. Would love to see our code open sourced someday and be useful to others, especially state exchanges, but that is a long-term goal. Currently we are laser-focused on getting everything ready to ship by next open enrollment.
  - Alupis 12y ago
    would be curious to get some answers as-to why this wasn't the path to building the website all along? I mean, the original site was awarded to CGI Inc without any biding process... and they aren't even a US company. Why did we not have US professionals/companies build this thing the first go-round? I could have imagined a High-Tech All-Stars sort of thing... each major US tech company sends 1 or 2 representatives to collaborate and work together to build this new long-lasting piece of national infrastructure.
    - lekanwang 12y ago
      The government procurement process is insanely complex. A full competitive bid process for something of this magnitude would have taken many months at least, and would also make it really hard for consortiums to bid because of the up-front cost. Hence the beltway incumbents (Lockheed, Northrop, IBM, and, yes, CGI though they're much smaller) have a much easier time winning these contracts since knowing how to navigate the contracting process and having existing contract vehicles unfortunately gets you a large part of the way there. I believe CGI actually got this contract via an IDIQ, which is an "indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity" contract, allowing HHS to add additional "tasks" to the IDIQ contract as long as its within certain bounds set by the contract, and if it stays within their GSA fee schedule. IDIQs started becoming popular in the 90s as a more expedient way to contract rather than the months-long or even years-long process of a standard competitive bidding process. However, it only really solved the procurement woes for incumbents. I couldn't find the original CGI-Federal contract, but here's at least their press release: http://www.cgi.com/en/CGI-selected-build-US-wide-competitive-health-insurance-exchange http://www.cgi.com/en/CGI-selected-build-US-wide-competitive... Also, here's Accenture RFP award as the prime for fixing up the site for the next enrollment cycle. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=e665175b38b01e48bc28bbc9620804ed https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&i...
stephenhuey 12y ago
I see it's sold out now. Will there be any possibility of a second event or will the rest of us also be able to find out how we can help after the event happens?
- brandonb 12y ago
  Yes — we're trying to find a larger venue. For now, sign up for the waitlist and you'll get an email once we've found something larger!
itbeho 12y ago
Are these devs working on healthcare.gov being paid or volunteering?
niels_olson 12y ago
Even if you don't release it until after a successful open enrollment, please record video! And please, during Q&A, remind the speakers to repeat the question so it's captured on audio! Or capture the audio from the active audience microphone!
hueving 12y ago
Why does it matter if some of the people are Google alumni? That doesn't mean anything anymore, the company employs over 10,000 engineers. It's like saying that you have IBM alumni.
kropotkin 12y ago
Are Tor users going to be blocked from accessing the new site also?

rch 12y ago

Any chance we could live stream this in Boulder?

brandonb 12y ago
Unfortunately we're not doing any recordings -- it's hard to be candid and recorded for all history at the same time. :(
- protomyth 12y ago
  You're talking about a government website and not recording? I am a little worried that you don't think you can be candid about what is being done with our tax money.
  - srj 12y ago
    I imagine recording a discussion is particularly stifling when it pertains to government contracted work. In government it's all about how blame should be assigned and not about moving forward productively.
- yeukhon 12y ago
  If you can't get professional to record the event, just launch a Google Hangout broadcast on the speaker's computer so the sldie is recorded, add a microphone to him/her under $20 and you good to go. If the speaker is close to the computer just use the built-in microphone.
- angersock 12y ago
  It's not hard, it just requires honesty and integrity. Check's already cashed, right?
- enjo 12y ago
  This is an absolutely baffling comment. Particularly for a community (hackers) that value openness and transparency above pretty much all else. What in the world are you talking about, to a general public audience, that can't be heard by the rest of the world?
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - dangrossman 12y ago
    This is a highly politicized topic. Recording/streaming the event makes it very easy to take an out-of-context soundbite and turn it into a media story that actively hurts their ongoing efforts to improve the marketplace. They may want to keep the TV cameras out for the same reason they're not present in just about any kind of political discussion/negotiation; by the time anyone in government is speaking to media, the private discussions that crafted their story have already taken place. You really can't be candid when there are influential people looking to pick apart everything you say.
    - Bill_Dimm 12y ago
      Recording/streaming the event makes it very easy to take an out-of-context soundbite... I would have concluded the exact opposite. Making a full recording available allows any attempt to quote part the meeting out of context discoverable and provable. Without a recording, anyone that attends the meeting could jot down a quote that serves their purpose and report it without anyone being able to dispute the context (aside from relying on the memories of other attendees).
      - msie 12y ago
        Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Once a juicy soundbite makes the news rounds, a release of the full-recording isn't going to change anyone's mind.
  - abstractbill 12y ago
    YC talks aren't recorded, for similar reasons. When you know every word you say will be potential fodder for a sensationalist news story, it's harder to be blunt about what went right and wrong.
- iamdave 12y ago
  Define: "Hard". Technologically "hard" or Politically "hard" ?
  - wutbrodo 12y ago
    Do you really think that the presenters haven't figured out video recording? It's obviously the latter.
- rhizome 12y ago
  Understandable. It's only the face and future of public heath security for the nation, there's no real reason why everybody should know what's going on behind the scenes.
- itbeho 12y ago
  Is that called "transparency"[1]? [1] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOp...
- rch 12y ago
  I understand your concern, but how about just a similarly controlled space in Boulder? There are a few to choose from, each with adequate equipment and personnel.

austinhutch 12y ago

So cool! Just got my ticket.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

quaunaut 12y ago

Damn, what luck. Gonna be in town just for next week, I definitely must attend this.

pdeuchler 12y ago

Not to start a political flame war, but... How do you, as technologically savvy people who are in a better position than most to understand the grave transgressions of the NSA, reconcile your support of an administration that has shown complete disregard for our privacy and civil liberties (specifically within the scope of the NSA/Snowden scandal) with your inherent duty, as an engineer of powerful systems, to above all further the public good? As a subtext, what are your thoughts on continuing to further said administration's political aims in one arena while they restrict your rights and livelihood* in another? Furthermore, and more on topic, what steps have you taken to place privacy concerns at the forefront when creating a service that consumes vast amounts of personal and medical information from millions of people? Last, as someone who has been "on the inside" do you see corruption as a large problem with government procurement? To what extent did corruption create the situation that you were called in to fix with the original HealthCare.gov fiasco? *assuming, of course, that the NSA/Snowden revelations have hurt US tech interests Edit: Mods, if you disapprove of this comment feel free to delete it. That said, I think these are some important questions that need to be asked.

ianstallings 12y ago
But how would you ever make government better without getting involved? I mean unless you are talking about scrapping the existing system and replacing it, you must be involved in order to change it.
lhc- 12y ago
While I can see huge ethical concerns were this project related to the NSA, I don't think you can necessarily force that association here. While I agree with your frustration with the administration, especially with regards to surveillance and civil rights, I also would like to see the ACA do well and lead to a better life for most Americans. I don't think its wrong to want to work on solving this problem (healthcare) while disagreeing with other actions of the government, as the above poster is working on something that will directly help millions of americans. I see improving healthcare as a separate issue from the NSA scandals, and I think that, in refusing to help with fixing healthcare.gov, you are harming millions of poor and needy Americans without actually accomplishing much of anything.

rak 12y ago

Could you please consider posting videos of the talk? A local group on software engineering did a talk I could not attend but I am interested.

nhebb 12y ago

Did you redesign it from scratch or were you able to leverage any existing code? Were the original developers developing against a (mostly) static spec, or were the terms constantly being changed up until October of last year? Are there any plans to carry this forward and redesign some of the state exchanges?

hy3lxs 12y ago
Mostly from scratch. Cannot speak directly to experience of original developers, but I could see moving target as being an issue. Would love to see our code open sourced someday and be useful to others, especially state exchanges, but that is a long-term goal. Currently we are laser-focused on getting everything ready to ship by next open enrollment.
- Alupis 12y ago
  would be curious to get some answers as-to why this wasn't the path to building the website all along? I mean, the original site was awarded to CGI Inc without any biding process... and they aren't even a US company. Why did we not have US professionals/companies build this thing the first go-round? I could have imagined a High-Tech All-Stars sort of thing... each major US tech company sends 1 or 2 representatives to collaborate and work together to build this new long-lasting piece of national infrastructure.
  - lekanwang 12y ago
    The government procurement process is insanely complex. A full competitive bid process for something of this magnitude would have taken many months at least, and would also make it really hard for consortiums to bid because of the up-front cost. Hence the beltway incumbents (Lockheed, Northrop, IBM, and, yes, CGI though they're much smaller) have a much easier time winning these contracts since knowing how to navigate the contracting process and having existing contract vehicles unfortunately gets you a large part of the way there. I believe CGI actually got this contract via an IDIQ, which is an "indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity" contract, allowing HHS to add additional "tasks" to the IDIQ contract as long as its within certain bounds set by the contract, and if it stays within their GSA fee schedule. IDIQs started becoming popular in the 90s as a more expedient way to contract rather than the months-long or even years-long process of a standard competitive bidding process. However, it only really solved the procurement woes for incumbents. I couldn't find the original CGI-Federal contract, but here's at least their press release: http://www.cgi.com/en/CGI-selected-build-US-wide-competitive-health-insurance-exchange http://www.cgi.com/en/CGI-selected-build-US-wide-competitive... Also, here's Accenture RFP award as the prime for fixing up the site for the next enrollment cycle. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=e665175b38b01e48bc28bbc9620804ed https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&i...

stephenhuey 12y ago

I see it's sold out now. Will there be any possibility of a second event or will the rest of us also be able to find out how we can help after the event happens?

brandonb 12y ago
Yes — we're trying to find a larger venue. For now, sign up for the waitlist and you'll get an email once we've found something larger!

itbeho 12y ago

Are these devs working on healthcare.gov being paid or volunteering?

niels_olson 12y ago

Even if you don't release it until after a successful open enrollment, please record video! And please, during Q&A, remind the speakers to repeat the question so it's captured on audio! Or capture the audio from the active audience microphone!

hueving 12y ago

Why does it matter if some of the people are Google alumni? That doesn't mean anything anymore, the company employs over 10,000 engineers. It's like saying that you have IBM alumni.

kropotkin 12y ago

Are Tor users going to be blocked from accessing the new site also?