Consumers Still Face Problems Accessing Health Insurance Exchange

“It breaks some of my excitement about it,” the mortgage broker says.  

Since the exchanges went live Oct. 1st, Lappin estimates he’s spent about three hours on the site trying to shop for a policy. 

“Most of the time it’d kick me out and say it could not create an account,” he says of his initial attempts. “And I’d have to start all over again, which was the most frustrating part.”

Lappin says he’s since been able to create an account, something he sees as a sign of progress. 

Official figures aren’t available as far as how many people successfully used the HealthCare.gov site to find coverage.

One report pegs it at 36,000; another, just 5,000.

The government says it will release those statistics on a monthly basis, just like it does other usage data. 

In the meantime, Lappin says he’ll hang in there.

“There’s plenty of time.”

Open enrollment continues through March 31st, although consumers should purchase a policy by mid-December for it to take effect Jan. 1, 2014.