Charles Ornstein

Health and Human Services asked for comments about its website. It got them by the hundreds. Consumers and insurance agents say they were stymied, and one applicant said he and his wife were wrongly listed as incarcerated—then denied.

Beyond problems consumers have had logging in to the new federal insurance marketplace website, insurers report major problems with the back-end system for actually enrolling people.

Critics of the Affordable Care Act rollout say its technology problems are overwhelming. Defenders point to the states, where the health insurance marketplaces seem to be working.