Obamacare's Spanish Website Is In Spanglish, Riddled With Grammatical Errors And Clunky Language

Obamacare's Spanish language website has finally launched after a two-month delay, however, it seems that site administrators didn't take the time to properly translate the English language version. CuidadoDeSalud.gov launched last month, however, users are finding the site impossible to navigate -- not only is it plagued by many of the bugs and errors of the English language version but the translation is so poor that Spanish speakers are finding it difficult to understand.

The Associated Press reports "the translations were so clunky and full of grammatical mistakes that critics say they must have been computer-generated." The problem becomes even more severe when Hispanic applicants try to read the details of the various health plans the site offers. "When you get into the details of the plans, it's not all written in Spanish. It's written in Spanglish, so we end up having to translate it for them," Adrian Madriz, a health care navigator in Miami, told the AP.

Obamacare's Spanish language title is an indicator of just how poor the translation efforts have been: "Cuidado de Salud" literally translates to 'Caution for Health' -- 'seguro de salud' would have been a more appropriate option. The site uses the word "prima," which in Spanish is more frequently used to mean "female cousin," as the term for "premium." Moreover, links on the site either didn't work at all, or simply directed users back to the English language version.

The Obama administration says it is "working closely with key stakeholders" to ensure the problem is resolved. However, in sates like New Mexico or California where a large percentage of the population only speak Spanish, there are concerns that Latinos and other minority groups will miss out on the first wave of coverage. With nearly 15 million Latinos without healthcare in the United States, Spanish-speakers are one of the key demographics for Obama's healthcare reform. Fixing this site will thus be key to Obamacare's success.