obamacare: attempt #1

Beginning in January, I may need to buy my health insurance through the new government exchange that's been established by state.

I want to see what my options are.  You know, see if it's better or worse than what I currently have.  Well, it's not that simple.  In fact, it proves impossible.

I google NY exchanges and end up on the right site.  Before I can see any of the plans, I need to create an account.  It’s an involved process that takes me more than an hour. The system keeps crashing.  I’m told my time has expired after 30 seconds.  The page I want doesn’t exist.  Or the page loads so slowly you’d think I had given up cable for dial-up.

The confidential questions to protect my identity are not of the garden variety mother’s maiden name type.  No.  It’s your home phone number growing up.  Or your maternal grandmother’s maiden name.  Who knows this stuff?  Finally I find a few I think I can remember.  Best friend growing up.  Favorite comic book character from my childhood.  And first grade teacher.  

I also need to type-these-two-words into a window.  Do I put a space between the words?  And why are these words impossible to read? It takes me several tries.  I don’t understand why they don’t just ask a simple math question.  Like 4+ 3 and I need to type in 7.  That’d be a lot easier than trying to decipher something that looks like MjdCHrin in one window and pSEUdinrlX in the other!

Anyway, I am finally in.  Can I see the options now?  Nope.

Now I have to complete more information about myself.  I start to fill in the basics:  name, address, etc.  But then I’m asked a lot more.  I lose patience and quit.  But not before saving everything I've just done.

I come back a couple of hours later, and try several times to get in.  I go back to enter more information about myself and half the information I previously entered is gone. I re-enter it, determined to get to the section where I can finally see the offerings.

I am next asked:

Personal Identifying Information

Please answer the following questions to allow verification of your identity.

There is nothing below the question.   

I can’t even get to the next screen.

I give up.