Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Though healthcare.gov — the website that allows Americans to shop for affordable health insurance — launched two weeks ago, many claim it's still bogged down with technical issues.
The tasks giving users the most grief are those that appear to be the most simple — logging in and creating an account.
Because of the frustration surrounding the site, many uninsured Utahns are opting for private insurance or have decided to wait until healthcare.gov runs a little more smoothly.
Still, there are the fortunate few who've logged on without a glitch. It took Utahn Janet Jorgenson just 30 minutes to find her health plan.
"I had no problems at all," she said.
Jorgenson waited until 11:00 Thursday morning to take on the site — thinking the end of the government shutdown would give her easier access. Others like Michael Stewart had a tougher time navigating the site.
The result: no health insurance.
"I just tried to pull up the web page and it wasn't working," he said.
Stewart has tried every day since the first of October. He'll try again tomorrow, he said.
Randal Seer with Take Care Utah is working with people like Stewart who continue to see unwelcome red messages pop up on their computer screens.
"I think most people right now are just trying to work through all the misconceptions that have been out there," he said.
I think most people right now are just trying to work through all the misconceptions that have been out there.
–Randal Seer, Take Care Utah
About half the calls coming into Seer's office are complaints about the website, he said. The other 50 percent are from people with questions about the Affordable Care Act.
A report by the Utah Health Department revealed 13.2 percent of Utahns are uninsured. An estimated 16 percent will remain without health insurance by the first of 2014, according to insure.com. Seer predicts in two to three years that number will reduce to about 2 percent.
But that's only if the uninsured can find patience.
"Give it time," Seer said.
Those behind healthcare.gov are working out the glitches, Steer said, and the site should improve with each day. For help navigating the website, head to Take Care Utah for a list of specialists in your area.
