With less than eight weeks until open enrollment officially begins for those who need to purchase health insurance through the state exchanges, the coming weeks and months will provide us with a front row seat into how ready the Obama Administration really is for the implementation of the President's signature health law.
The lay of the land politically isn't difficult to predict: Republicans will seize on any story or report where the law is falling short, while Democrats will emphasize the positives.
The latest piece of information for us to chew on is all about data, as in your health information and personal data that will be entered into a giant "Data Services Hub" run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
A report from the Inspector General in the Health and Human Services Department found issues with the IT security controls that will be deployed to protect the information in that hub, and whether or not they will be ready on October 1.
While the report found that CMS "is addressing and testing security controls," questions were raised about the fact that "several critical tasks remain to be completed in a short period of time."
For example, the final security authorization for the Data Services Hub is now expected on September 30 - that would be the day before enrollment begins under the Obama health law.
"If there are additional delays in completing the security authorization package, the CMS CIO may not have a full assessment of system risks and security controls needed for the security authorization decision by the initial opening enrollment period expected to begin on October 1, 2013," the report stated.
Republicans in the House said the report showed that assurances that the health law implementation is on track, just aren't so.
"Add this to a growing list of concerns about the ability of the administration to implement this law in a timely and responsible manner," said a release from GOP members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The report from the HHS IG can be viewed here.
In reading the report, it becomes clear just how much of a information technology headache it likely will be to secure all of the health data involved, making sure it is transmitted securely to the feds and placed in the Hub, and then protected there.
Among the alphabet soup of abbreviations in the report, the ICD (Interface Control Documents), ISA's (Interconnection Security Agreements), SSP (system security plan) and SCA (security control assessment).
Feds leave some questions about health reform and Congress
On Wednesday, what amounts to the human resources office of the federal government, the Office of Personnel Management, issued a proposed rule on how Congressional staff would be treated under the Obama health reform law.
Remember, part of the law said lawmakers and their staffs must get their insurance through the exchanges, even though the exchanges are meant for people who do not have insurance benefits provided by their employer.
To my reading, the new rule doesn't seem to cover all Congressional staff - committee staffers might fall between the cracks, for example - as instead it focuses on those who work for "the official office of a Member of Congress."
The rule also allows a lawmakers "the responsibility for the determination as to whether an employed individual meets the statutory definition."
That could raise some interesting issues, as there are workers who receive their pay from different sources, drawing some salary from a lawmaker's personal office, and some from a committee on which that Member also serves.
You can read the administrative benefits release at You can read the administrative benefits release at http://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters/2013/13-204.pdf.
