Brokers and buyers in several states still wonder what the public exchanges will be like.
Some state-based exchanges had their websites working well at least by early afternoon.
In Colorado, for example, the Connect for Health Colorado exchange's website worked smoothly this afternoon. A visitor who simply wanted to see what plans might be available could put in an age and a ZIP code and see a list of available plans.
A visitor accustomed to using Amazon to shop for books could apply slider filters to, for example, narrow the results to include an annual out-of-pocket maximum of just $3,000 per family per year.
The full retail price for a single 48-year-old who signed up for that plan would be about $429 per month.
Meanwhile, for brokers in states with federally run exchanges that have been stingy about releasing exchange plan information, website problems at the main U.S. Department of Health and Human Services exchange site – HealthCare.gov – left visitors who just wanted to see the exchange plan menu staring at a screen that said, "Health Insurance Marketplace: Please wait."
