Kasich: ObamaCare website rollout ‘looks like a disaster’

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), an ObamaCare critic, says HealthCare.gov’s technical issues won’t be the law’s biggest problem.  

“The rollout is the least of the problems here. The rollout looks like a disaster. In my state, most Ohioans are going to pay higher costs,” he said Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

“If you rolled it out perfectly, it would not take on what America wants,” Kasich added. 

The healthcare law’s insurance marketplace, HealthCare.Gov, has had a rocky rollout since its unveiling Oct. 1. Contractors who built the site testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week on the technical issues. On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will also testify before that congressional panel. 

{mosads}Kasich said the website’s problems, coupled with the government shutdown and reports of the National Security Agency’s activities abroad, are “creating an issue of confidence in the minds of people and doubt around the world.”  

Despite Kasich’s opposition to the law, an Ohio legislative panel last week voted in favor of the state expanding its Medicaid program. The move is considered a win for the Obama administration. 

Some other governors are also calling ObamaCare a success so far, including Gov. Steve Beshear (D-Ky.), who also appeared on “Meet the Press.” 

In Kentucky, he said, 26,000 people have signed up for the new health insurance so far. 

“This is working in Kentucky. We had and have some of the worst health statistics in the country,” Beshear said.  “It’s been that way for generations. The only way we’re going to get out of the ditch is a transformational tool and the Affordable Care Act is going to do for us.”

Both President Obama and Sebelius are taking responsibility for the site’s setbacks, the governor added. When asked if Sebelius should be fired, Beshear said, I’m not going to give the president advice for hiring and firing.”

“Everybody needs to chill out because it is going to work.”