HealthCare.gov Supposedly Getting Fixed By Thanksgiving

Q. I have an account on HealthCare.gov but can't get through to actually complete an application. I get repeated account "confirmation" e-mails instead. It's like that movie "Groundhog Day." My insurance company is canceling my policy on Jan. 1 so I really need to get something else. Help!

A. Good news first. Jeffrey Zients, the administration official who's leading the "tech surge" to fix the glitch-ridden portal to Health Insurance Marketplaces in 36 states, promised today that "by the end of November HealthCare.gov will operate smoothly for the vast majority of users."

The tech experts who've looked over the system have, to no one's surprise, found dozens of problems not only with the site's ability to handle the crush of users, but also with software that prevents its many moving parts from working together like they should, Zeints said. "We're going to punch out fixes one by one," he said in a call with reporters. "Each week the site will get better."

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