Starting Over From Scratch: Doing The Application

OK, I just made the second account, and it's time to take it for a spin. This time, I'll not toy with asking for financial assistance. That might be what things so mucked up the last time. This is going to follow the basic flow I described in the earlier post about one cycle. In this page, I'll just highlight differences and interesting tidbits of information.

But first, let me point out that the website is right now much more responsive. It does, in fact, get more responsive every day. That is a good thing. Like a traffic jam, it will eventually let people through and they won't need to access these choke points anymore.

The first screen is just some text and a check box. The second page is that page I despise with a white hot passion because it always defaults with my preferred address and phone number handled stupidly. I have one address and one phone number. I want them to leave the check box checked rather than uncheck it and copy the information into secondary alternate addresses and phone numbers.

Same with the email address. This was one of those times were I checked the "Use my email address" check box, and it populated the first email address box, and it complained about the second one being empty.

They asked me if I want to use the email address they know about, but still want me to confirm it... Grrr.... I am convinced that there are different servers with different versions of validation software. That's just bad. Anyway.... I'm happily going along when I get this:

Again, there is progress. This has an error message. Exception in calling Save Insurance Application data service. I just decide to click the green "Save & Continue" button and let the chips fall where they may.

I mentioned that I used to get a separate question about being an Pacific Islander or Alaskan or something. It must be this. I haven't seen this dialog box in a while, but up it popped.

OK, the Pacific Islander part was wrong. But this is the screen. If I have problems on this account, I wonder if I'll see this screen again... I get closer and closer to the furthest most point I've ever gotten.

There used to be 4 of these boxes I had to check. Now there are 2. I'm really beginning to think that my database entry was corrupted on the old account. It had stuff about Medicaid, but this one doesn't. I click Save & Continue. Then I get the electronic signature box. In my excitement, I noticed it was different from the electronic signature box from the old account. This is the old account one:

Notice how the text above the part with the electronic signature doesn't really look like something an attorney wrote? Well, the one I had to sign today did. It had all that I swear that this stuff is true and accurate and yadda yadda yadda. Much more appropriate for an electronic signature. It also didn't have the gray button, I believe. So I pressed whatever I needed to and waited......

And I FINALLY got results? How happy am I? I wrote the word "finally" in all caps which I detest! That's how happy I am!

OK, let's view. It turns out, that the View Eligibilty Result makes me download a PDF.

So I download it. My computer came with Nuance PDF viewer installed and I've never bothered to change it to Adobe, but Nuance chokes and shows me nothing more than a page with Health Insurance Marketplace header and footer and a blank page.

So, I installed Adobe Reader XI and that didn't choke. I see that I am eligible. I now know what the Dec 15 deadline I've hearing about it. Your insurance doesn't start right away--it starts on the first of the month if you enroll on or before the 15th of the previous month. Obviously, it doesn't start before 2014, but there is that lag, I suppose to deter people who think they can sign up online from their phone en route to the hospital.

But, the take away from this long post:

1. If you have problems, create a new account and start over
2. Blow through error messages like they never even appeared
3. But don't listen to me if you want financial aid because I skipped all that