WASHINGTON, DC - After more than three years, billions of dollars, and countless assurances from administration officials that the health care law was “working the way it’s supposed to, " the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch reports, “A quick check of all the state Web sites where exchanges have been set up - plus the HealthCare.gov site that will service three-fourths of the country - shows that it was virtually impossible to sign up on the first day." Nevertheless, fervent Obamacare supporter and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters that implementation was, “a dream come true for many people in our country." That proved not to be the case for Jean Beigle, “one of those who appeared in the Rose Garden with President Obama recently as an example of someone who would benefit from Obamacare." Fox News reports that “Beigel told the Washington Post she tried for two days to sign up before giving up for now. ‘It’s a little confusing.’"
News reports from all 50 states and the District of Columbia highlight just how far the confusion and “glitches" reached:
Alabama : “And like the rest of the country, many had trouble getting onto the site."
Alaska : “Large amounts of website traffic and other glitches have made it impossible to sign up for insurance on the site so far today…"
Arizona : “…despite years of planning, health experts predicted some consumers may experience temporary setbacks when applying for coverage today through the new government-run website, healthcare.gov. And they were right."
Arkansas : “The online exchange in Arkansas was moving at a crawl due to heavy traffic."
California : “Californians were still running into computer problems and long hold lines during the second day of enrollment under the federal health care law."
Colorado : “Exchange officials in Colorado said their website would not be fully functional for the first month…"
Connecticut : “There were some ‘sporadic issues’ with website activity, the agency said. ‘Today was not without bumps…’"
Delaware : “But officials acknowledge that glitches are likely as a key component of the federal health reform law is launched Tuesday."
District of Colombia : “When I tried to click to take the next step, I just got a nearly blank screen and then nothing, not even an error message. I wasn’t even able to see what is in the health exchange plans or what they cost to know if I would be able to get more affordable coverage than I currently have."
Florida : “The glitches in the new electronic health care sign-up system began almost immediately… and they never let up."
Georgia : “The website Healthcare.gov, touted as a virtual marketplace to shop and enroll for a health care plan, was at a standstill for the second day, getting Obamacare off to a rocky start."
Hawaii : “Software problems are bringing the federal health care enrollment system in Hawaii to a halt Tuesday, the day it was scheduled to launch, Hawaii News Now has confirmed."
Idaho : “Online, the exchange had a bumpy start."
Illinois : “Illinois’ Affordable Care Act rollout off to rocky start."
Indiana : “‘You would just think that with all this time they’ve had to get it set up and ready to go, there would have been a better premiere,’ Brian said. Across the U.S., it was much the same, with long delays and frozen screens."
Iowa : “The government’s new online health insurance marketplace continued to be balky Wednesday, its second day of operation."
Kansas : “The online insurance marketplace for Kansas could not fully handle the crush of consumers who hit the federally run exchange when enrollment opened Tuesday…"
Kentucky : “Opening day for Obamacare in Kentucky had substantial glitches as many Kentuckians trying to get health insurance through Kynect.Ky.Gov were greeted with the message that there was a problem with logging in."
Louisiana : “… many of the state’s potential customers have been stalled on the website, unable to move past the portion of HealthCare.gov that instructs them how to set up their profile."
Maine : “Maine’s new online health insurance marketplace launched Tuesday and groups assisting the state’s uninsured with the sign-up process urged patience as high interest led to delays for some consumers."
Maryland : “The exchange was among many across the country with opening day hiccups."
Massachusetts : “…the two Baystate patients she helped work through the system didn’t complete the process and sign up for insurance… the system won’t have the ability to verify eligibility on the spot."
Michigan : “Tuesday’s launch of the Internet marketplace for buying health insurance was marred by error messages and technical glitches…"
Minnesota : “… technical glitches, slowdowns and delays were common."
Mississippi : “Those looking to get a jump Tuesday on purchasing health insurance from Mississippi’s exchange had better be ready to wait."
Missouri : “But in Kansas and Missouri, it was more fizzle than bang."
Montana : “Montana’s ‘Obamacare’ website sees problems on 1st day."
Nebraska : “Nebraska’s new health care marketplace got off to a bumpy start…"
Nevada : “The sheer volume of visitors, however, created backlogs in the system, and errors were found."
New Hampshire : “‘I get on the page. It loads. Then something doesn’t happen,’ said Ben Robertson, a New Hampshire actor and consultant who chronicled his 30-plus failed enrollment attempts on Twitter (@BenHRobertson), complete with screenshots."
New Jersey : “Obamacare health care exchanges struggled on second consecutive day."
New Mexico : “Getting to the government’s individual exchange at healthcare.gov was difficult."
New York : “ObamaCare rollout riddled with glitches."
North Carolina : “Glitch in new health insurance marketplace stalls enrollment of uninsured in Charlotte."
North Dakota : “North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm said he and his staff were monitoring the federal website Tuesday morning but were unable to access it."
Ohio : “Bumpy launch for Ohio’s health-insurance marketplace."
Oklahoma : “The Affordable Care Act got off to a rough start in Oklahoma…"
Oregon : “Oregonians will have to wait to enroll for health insurance through President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. …The problem is expected to be resolved later in October."
Pennsylvania : “The Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange intended to serve Pennsylvania got off to a rough start."
Rhode Island : “Yet after three hours with the navigator, Yepes left HealthSource RI without having enrolled or gotten a sense of what a decent plan might cost his family."
South Carolina : “Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange has just begun and already registration is experiencing technical difficulties."
South Dakota : “…it’s off to a slow start."
Tennessee : “The federal health exchange is busted."
Texas : “…things are not running as smoothly as planned."
Utah : “The federally run online insurance exchange used by Utah experienced more glitches on Wednesday, the second day the website had been open to consumers."
Vermont : “…even as system problems persisted with a slow-to-respond website…"
Virginia : “Website glitches seemed to stop many applicants…"
Washington : “The site was placed into ‘maintenance mode’ and was unavailable for many of the enrollment events and other activities planned for the first day…"
West Virginia : “Ten hours later - after two attempts at signing up and one 45-minutes call with a consumer service agent - technical glitches have prevented the 60-year-old grandfather from purchasing a plan."
Wisconsin : “The agency funded to help people in northwest Wisconsin enroll in health insurance programs under the Affordable Care act, like most others in the state, won’t have certified helpers by Tuesday’s official start date, its director said."
Wyoming : “Technical problems marred the opening of the federal insurance marketplace for Wyoming."
