Questionable design blamed for HIX website woes

A decision to require consumers to create online accounts before they browse available health plans under President Barack Obama's overhaul appears to have led to many of the program's technical problems, independent experts say.Most e-commerce websites -- as well as medicare.gov -- are not designed to require those merely browsing to set up accounts. But it's one of the first steps on healthcare.gov. Allowing consumers to browse anonymously was one of the recommendations of Enroll UX 2014, a $3 million, 14-month project to design an optimal user experience for the insurance marketplaces.