The secret for logging into HealthCare.gov

This is incredible! I may have found a stable way to log into HealthCare.gov! Here is my story, and the secret.

I have been trying to log into HealthCare.gov to compare my insurance options since I created my account on 8/22/13. I started back then because I wanted to get ahead of the curve, however, it never worked. I called the 800# and spoke to a rep who told me to try back in a few days. That never worked.

On 10/1/13 the site officially opened for business, and I couldn’t log in. I tried a password reset and even though I got the reset email and clicked on the link, I got a message saying the account doesn’t exist. So I created a new account. And of course, I couldn’t log in there either.

A week later I tried both accounts and was able to get past the log in screen to a blank page. And that’s the best I’ve ever been able to do. Day after day, at all times during the day, I try to log in and get nothing but a blank screen. So this morning, 10/16/13, around 6 AM, I tried to log in from my Galaxy S3 phone. And it did a little better than a blank screen! Not much, but I could see the menu bar. And that got me thinking. Even though I write about finance, my background is in engineering, math, and computers and now I had a theory. That theory is that the site may not be designed to interact properly with all browsers.

So I rushed to my notebook computer and tried using the Opera cell phone emulator, and sure enough, I was able to log in! Could it be this simple? All this time I was using Google Chrome, which at best got me to a blank screen.

Google Chrome (blank screen every time)

Next I tried Internet Explorer, which I should have tried all along since it is still the most popular browser and you would think, the first one they would have designed it to work with. But no, the best I can get there is the same result as my cell phone. A menu bar with blank content.

Internet Explorer (a little better)

How about Firefox? Well, to my surprise, it wouldn’t work at all with this browser. Total crash, “Access Denied. You don’t have permission to access…this server.”

Firefox (total failed)

Now on to the last browser—OPERA. I only use it when I develop websites for myself or others, however, it turns out that I was able to log in, every time today, using it! I was stunned! You can get that browser here.

Opera (worked perfectly)

So I can get in, FINALLY!! And you may be able to as well! The key is that you need to try many browsers and not to rely on only your favorite. The next thing I have to do is enter my information and analyze and compare the options that the Affordable Care Act can offer. That will be for another article.

Of course, this is how everything is working this morning, 10/16/13, and things are changing minute by minute. However, the important take away here is that you need to try EVERY browser to see if you can get in and sign up.

Good luck my DebtSmart friends in getting affordable healthcare!!

Here is a video of how things went this morning…

–> UPDATE: 10/16/13, 11:23 AM: I had a little more luck with Firefox and IE, which worked intermittently after refreshing once logged in. Still nothing on Chrome. Opera is still holding very well, but I did have to refresh sometimes after login.

–> UPDATE: 10/16/13, 12:18 PM: I was able to log in with IE, Firefox, and Opera for the first time! Chrome failed as usual with a blank screen. Opera has still had the most stable performance of all Windows browsers I’ve been testing.

–> UPDATE: 10/16/13, 2:35 PM: All three browsers: IE, Firefox, and Opera seem to be working. Just log in a wait for a minute and your account may come up! Chrome failed as usual with a blank screen. Opera is still the best.

–> UPDATE: 10/23/13: This is the first day I was able to log in using all four browsers! Looks like they are working on it and it’s getting fixed.