“I want to apologize to you that the website does not work as well as it should,” said Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in an address to the House Ways and Means Committee. Tavenner’s statement on Tuesday, October 29 was the first official apology for inconveniences experienced by the hundreds of thousands trying to apply for affordable healthcare on Healthcare.gov since October 1. Tavenner went on to reassure the committee that the “vast majority” of consumers would be able to use the site by the end of November.

The failure of  Healthcare.gov has cause tension between political parties; some Republican’s are calling for, Health Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius’s resignation who was tasked with overseeing the implemantation of the project. President Barack Obama has also been severely embarassed over the website’s failure to launch. According to Sebelius, issues with the website were known prior to launch, but President Obama was not informed on the matter.

Since it’s launch, Healthcare.gov has received over 20 million unique visitors and over 700,000 applications have been sent in. Tavenner has not actually revealed how many applicants have been enrolled, but did promise, “we’ll have that information available in mid-November.” Applications and information are also available via call center, paper applications, and in-person person assistance; however, the website it the most far reaching and simple method of application.