Thread: Obamacare websites crash: Glitches, error messages and long delays

Obamacare websites crash: Glitches, error messages and long delays

By Chicago Tribune October 1, 2013 12:25 pm

Heavy Internet traffic and system problems plagued the launch of the new health insurance exchanges Tuesday morning.
Consumers attempting to log on were met with an error message early Tuesday due to an overload of Internet traffic.
The message read: "We have a lot of visitors on our site right now and we're working to make your experience here better. Please wait here until we send you to the log-in page. Thank you for your patience!"
The delay was as long as four minutes at 7:10 a.m.

That wasn't the end of the problems. Once logging into the exchange, a list of required security questions were left blank, and an attempt to reload the page was met with another error message: "The system is down at the moment. We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Please try again later."



Another attempt at 7:30 a.m. was met with another error: "Important: Your account couldnt (sic) be created at this time. The system is unavailable."
A chat function designed to help answer consumer questions also timed out after a 10-minute wait for an agent.
A government spokeswoman didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.



An Illinois landing page, www.getcoveredillinois.gov, which directs consumers to either the federal exchange website or a separate state portal for enrolling in an expanded Medicaid program, was operating without issues.
Even with the early hiccups on the federal enrollment site, President Barack Obama's health care law launched Tuesday despite a government shutdown brought on by an argument about its future.
In Illinois, officials said more than 1.6 million people in the state can now begin the process of determining whether they're eligible for government subsidies.
They'll get to choose from among 162 plans offered by six insurers through the Illinois exchange, which can be found at www.healthcare.gov. Deputy Gov. Cristal Thomas said a call center staffed with operators who will walk consumers through the law and answer enrollment questions should open at 8 a.m.
To be covered by Jan. 1, people need to sign up and pay for their first month of coverage through the exchanges by Dec. 15. Open enrollment continues through March 31. Those who do not have health insurance in 2014 must pay a tax penalty, starting at $95 per individual or 1 percent of household income, whichever is greater.
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http://www.gopusa.com/news/2013/10/0.../?subscriber=1

There's the train wreck now!

Looks like Obamacare is comin' down the line..