The Obama administration is on track to blow past the estimated $1.7 billion budget for HealthCare.gov, according to a federal report released Tuesday.
It’s taken 60 separate contracts with private companies to put together the federal Obamacare website, according to a report from the Health and Human Services Inspector General, at an original estimated cost of $1.7 billion.
But less than one year into the website’s operation — and before it’s even been completed — a third of HealthCare.gov-related contracts are overbudget. In 20 of 60 contracts, the IG reported, the amount obligated by February 2014 had already exceeded the original projections, a warning that the final price tag may grow significantly higher than $1.7 billion.
And that was only February. Since then, the administration has been working nonstop since then to build the backend of HealthCare.gov, which among other things, communicates enrollment information between the federal government and insurance companies. It’s more than likely that even more contracts will end up costing more than projected.
So far, the cost of seven contracts have at least doubled in cost compared to the Obama administration’s original estimates. The federal government has been working on the Obamacare website since 2009 and had paid almost $500 million to private contractors by February of this year, and had obligated another $300 million. (RELATED: HealthCare.gov Already Cost $840 Million — And It’s Not Even Finished)