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'Obamacare' Will Be Ready, Says Sebelius

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 12, 2013. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 12, 2013. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Three years after it became law, the health care reform that's become known as Obamacare is proving just as difficult to implement as it was to pass through Congress.

The law, which requires that everyone have health insurance of some kind or be fined, has not been fully funded.

This October, a number states will start enrolling people in health insurance policies offered through information clearing houses known as "exchanges," but they're not yet ready.

Coverage is supposed to start in January.

A Kaiser poll from last month shows that four in 10 Americans don't even know the Affordable Care Act is still the law, and half of Americans don't know enough about health care reform to understand what it means for them.

We asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius why it's been so hard to get the word out.

Sebelius defended her attempts to raise money to promote health care reform by asking private donors, including insurers and health care providers, to give money to a non-profit advocacy group called Enroll America.

And she says she's "very confident that we will be successful" in "having marketplaces in every state around the country starting October 1."

Guest:

This segment aired on May 31, 2013.

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