"HealthCare.gov on December 1 is night and day from where it was on October 1," Zients said during a press briefing Sunday. When it launched, the site had "an unacceptable user experience, marked by very slow response times, inexplicable user error messages and frequent website crashes and user outages," he added.
About 80 percent of shoppers who have the correct documentation are now able to complete their applications for insurance on the site, said Julie Bataille, communications director for CMS. That number is up from about 30 percent in the first weeks after the site's launch on October 1, she said.
Many of the remaining 20 percent will choose to complete their insurance applications over the phone or with in-person advisers because they are more comfortable using those methods instead of the website, she said.
The website's up time for the past week was higher than 95 percent, compared to just 43 percent for the week ending November 2, the report said. The site's up time has been 92 percent or higher for the past three weeks. A rapid response team has been able to fix most major problems within an hour during recent weeks, Zients said.