Henry Chao, the CMS official cited by Obamacare contractors as making key tech decisions behind the website rollout, was also responsible for much of the technology behind the troubled launch of the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
He “successfully managed the timely implementation of 10 major Part D systems, which facilitated the enrollment of 29 million beneficiaries into the Prescription Drug Program,” according to his official CMS bio.

Democrats find hope in the saga of the 2005 debut of the Medicare drug program enrollment system. Its launch too was very rocky but it got sorted out and is now viewed as a smashing success. Be patient, they say.

But relying on the same technology official in two botched rollouts has raised questions even among some supporters of the Obama administration.

“It’s hard to look at his Medicare track record and have confidence that he was going to design a terrific e-commerce site,” said Bob Kocher, a former health care adviser to President Barack Obama who worked with Chao and is now a partner at Venrock, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. “It’s the same guy.”