ACA: They should have segregated the 'shoppers' from the 'buyers'

[JoePhilly]

9. My point is mainly about how decisions are made in software (web) development

as to which features appear in the 1st version of any new application.

In this case, the most critical thing is that you can actually sign up people across the country, and calculate and compare what their costs will be for a wide array of HC plans, which vary not only on number and kind, but also in terms of subsidies based on state decisions about medicare.

The site did not need an "open calculator" to go live. That's a nice feature, but you did not need it to "go live".

To go live, you needed a basic website, the ability to navigate to a particular state's page, and then the ability to create an account and sign up. And you have to test all of that and make sure it all works. Everything past that is extra stuff that puts the schedule at risk.

I suspect that much of the infrastructure to provide a more "shopping-like" experience exist under the current UI, and that those features will surface over the next 6 months, as the testing of it all completes ... those will also probably evolve based on state level priorities. Some states are very serious about this, some moving more slowly.

The current UI is pretty rudimentary. I'm guessing that its the initial veneer. Sitting on top of the most basic of the "go live" required capabilities.

Web applications are, in many ways, easy to update and evolve, assuming that the infrastructure beneath is fairly well designed.