HP to replace Verizon as website provider

The Department of Health and Human Services is replacing Verizon with Hewlett-Packard as its Web hosting provider for the federal health insurance marketplace, according to multiple reports.

The website has suffered significant glitches since its rollout, prompting widespread criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike, and complicating Americans’ efforts to sign up for coverage under ObamaCare.

{mosads}The data hub center, which Verizon has operated, has crashed multiple times over the past month, making it impossible for potential customers to sign up for insurance online while the site was down.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the switch to HP had been in the works since the spring, when the government sought bids from competing providers for the same services.

Documents obtained by the Journal reveal the government rewarded the company’s Enterprise Services group a $38 million contract over the summer, which a source told the paper was for the health insurance website.

The administration has set a Nov. 30 deadline for the HealthCare.gov website to run smoothly. However, a Wednesday New York Times report that the administration is delaying a planned ObamaCare marketing campaign because it’s worried a crush of users could crash the system cast doubt on the ability of the administration to meet that deadline.