We continue to improve the overall user experience each week on HealthCare.gov, so that by the end of November the site will be functioning smoothly for the vast majority of users.

As you know, one of the places we’ve seen a lot of consumer frustration is in their ability to successfully create an account.  This issue was identified on October 1 and we’ve made significant progress since then to deliver a much smoother process for consumers.

In combination, the following fixes are allowing users to successfully create an account and be able to continue through the application process.  We can now process nearly 17,000 account registrants per hour – or five per second – with an error rate near zero:

• We replaced the virtual database with a high-capacity physical one, which allowed more efficient, effective processing and significantly reduced the error rate, or account registration failures;
• We optimized software configurations to increase efficiency in system interactions;
• We added capacity by doubling the number of servers;
• We swapped out a directory component for another that can process more transactions simultaneously;
• We improved the efficiency of database look-ups through software changes; and
• We pushed through a patch release with four software fixes to address users that were having a hard time logging in to their accounts.

We are moving through the rest of our punch list to make more performance and functionality improvements as our work to improve HealthCare.gov continues.

Thanks to these fixes, people across the nation are shopping for and signing up for coverage. Deborah L., a New Hampshire native, enrolled online for a plan that “will save us hundreds of dollars each month. It has better coverage, lower deductibles, and lower copays.” She says she “couldn’t be happier.”

To hear Deborah’s story visit: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/blog/2013/10/affordable-coverage-deborah.html.