John Mier had such a bad experience with the federal health care website, he called it a “horror show.”

The Leetsdale resident, who calls himself a “typical geeky engineer,” spent two weeks trying to sign up for health insurance coverage for him and his wife.

“I kept getting invalid messages,” he told me. “The performance was really bad.”

Mier, 62, persisted. He eventually enrolled in a plan that cuts in half what he would have spent buying insurance on his own. He said he’ll pay about $12,000 a year in premiums and has no government subsidies because he has a relatively well-paying job.

Despite his initial frustration, Mier is pleased with the result. That much he told President Obama in a letter he submitted via the White House website. Obama read part of the letter during a news conference on Monday in which he expressed frustration about the website’s bug-ridden rollout.

“Nobody’s madder than me about the fact that the website isn’t working as well as it should, which means it’s going to get fixed,” Obama said.

Even if gets fixed, the website represents what is wrong with the American health care system: Everything is complex and nothing is simple. Before they can start shopping for insurance, users must create an account. They must enter all sorts of personal information for the site to calculate whether they qualify for federal subsidies. Then once the subsidies are tallied, people are told how much they’ll pay.

Obama said it’s possible to pay about $100 a month for coverage, the same as you might for a cellphone plan or a cable bill. That sounds great until you ask: Who pays for those subsidies?

Perhaps a better question is why the government, in trying to present health insurance options, refrained from thinking outside the box? Why not be upfront about prices, an issue that should have been resolved already? If you think I’m off target, try calling your doctor’s office or the nearest hospital and ask how much it would cost to get a colonoscopy. You’ll get nothing but ums and uhs.

Mier, a Democrat, said he wanted to tell Obama that the federal health care website “sucks” but chose to use the less harsh, more diplomatic “stunk” instead. He said that out of necessity, he never gave up in his attempt to enroll.

Mier has had medical issues and his wife is a diabetic, which means both need medical care — and insurance. Some experts say those who are young and healthy will probably say, “Screw it, who needs insurance anyway?” They’ll forget about it, much in the same way people forget to return a library book. The fine for failing to enroll is $95 in the first year, more in later years.

If that happens, it could be problematic. Should healthy young Americans fail to enroll and only the sickest people sign on for Obamacare, insurance risk pools will be completely unbalanced. Inevitably, insurance plans clogged with unhealthy people will drive up premiums.

Obama is now touting a phone option for those who wish to enroll. Those who have used it say it works well. The problem again is that most young adults – the people we so desperately need in the risk pools – are not phone people. They are creatures of text and don’t like to call anyone for insurance or anything else.

Will the horror show continue beyond Halloween? Stay tuned.

Luis Fábregas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7998 or lfabregas@tribweb.com.

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