Americans still frustrated over state health insurance exchanges’ usability

There have been, no doubt, numerous technical glitches with the federal and state-run health insurance marketplace websites, but while HealthCare.gov has largely fixed its issues, some states continue to have problems with their sites. 

According to The Washington Post, residents in Maryland are still facing problems with enrolling in insurance benefits through the state’s site, with only 35,636 having enrolled in private plans as of Feb. 22. While the site’s usability has improved since it opened unsuccessfully on Oct. 1, 2013, it is still not working well. It has gotten to the point where the government has decided to pay for health plans residents buy on the individual market.

In other states, long wait times to speak to navigators and helpful professionals are additional issues, The Associated Press reported.  Maryland and Minnesota are among the offenders, with many state residents either not getting their calls through at all or seeing their calls transferred multiple times. 

“If I had to use one word, I’d use ‘frustrating,'”Jacki Manley, a stay-at-home mom in Keedysville, Md., told The Associated Press. She said she had been trying to enroll for health coverage since mid-December. “It just seems like all the right connections aren’t being made.”