Insurance company sources tell the National Journal that there is still about a 5 percent error rate in the information the site submits to insurance companies on behalf of those picking a new insurance plan. If the site is fixed but this problem is not, the problem could get worse. People would sign on, fill out the forms, and insurance companies would be flooded with bad data. That would delay insurance companies sending out bills, which is the necessary step required for a person to actually have insurance by Jan. 1. For those in the individual market who have coverage now, if they don’t sign up by that deadline, they will be exposed.

The administration says the problem—the so-called 834 forms—is at the top of the “punch list,” but they have been saying that for months and aren’t saying how much progress has been made. If this glitch remains, people who believed they were on the verge of getting new coverage will wonder what’s up. They’ll call their member of Congress, and those members will re-up their calls for delays and changes in the law. Sen. Al Franken has said he is open to a delay of the individual mandate if the problems with the system aren’t fixed by the end of the month. A lingering 834 problem would appear to qualify as not being fixed.

While HHS troubleshooters may have a policy punch list, Franken and other Democrats in Congress have a “political punch list” of their own.