House oversight panel probes health website woes

The House's chief investigator will delve Wednesday into the technical issues behind the dysfunctional rollout of President Barack Obama's health care website.

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (EYE'-suh) is probing whether the White House shares blame for the website's woes. At a hearing, he'll explore concerns about online security.

Issa also wants to know why the administration didn't allow consumers to window-shop for health plans on the website without first having to create personal accounts. That decision runs counter to e-commerce practice and was seen as increasing the workload for the system.

The hearing comes as the administration prepares to release tightly held enrollment numbers for October. Officials had projected 500,000 people would sign up for health care in the first month, but it's believed the report will show far fewer.

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