Therein, it seems to me, lies the fundamental screw-up with the roll-out. Obamacare is failing not because the website crashed in the early weeks, but because websites are not designed to answer questions or allay doubts of this magnitude. Buying health insurance is much more like buying a car or a house than like shopping on Amazon, which Obama’s health-care advisors seem to hold up as the model for what they’re trying to do.

To protect ourselves from being crushed by bills for cancer or long-term recovery from a stroke, my wife and I need to know the fine print and the NYSH website doesn’t tell me anything close to what I need to know.

I’m not about to click on the name of an unfamiliar insurer and lock myself into a policy I may find out later doesn’t cover us. Websites are built to force you to make a decision, one that then forces you down a particular path toward the next decision. The NYSH website doesn’t give me enough information to make a confident choice in any way. Customer service, please.

If I feel this paralyzed by what to do, how can people who aren’t at ease with computers be expected to register and buy policies?