All Eyes On Jeff Zients, Healthcare.gov's ER Surgeon

Anthony Brino | Government Health IT | October 23, 2013

To lead a sort of tech worker surge and software code purge for Healthcare.gov, the Obama Administration has brought in a turnaround guy, Jeffrey Zients.

Republican Senator John McCain said the White House should send Air Force One to Silicon Valley, “load it up with smart people, bring them back to Washington and fix this problem.” Instead, Obama turned to Zients, a native of Kensington, Maryland (just outside the beltway), who worked at the intersection of technology and business for the past two decades and started working in the public sector when Obama became president and was looking to reform a federal government with a reputation for inefficiency.

In September, as some staff from 55 contractors and at least three federal agencies were frantically trying to get Healthcare.gov up and running, Obama named Zients to lead the National Economic Council. Between now and January, when he starts work at the council, Zients will be coordinating the massive fix-it project for Healthcare.gov.