New Website for Coverage Questions

New HHS website helps consumers determine health coverage options.
The Christian Science Monitor (7/2, Grier) reports, "Healthcare.gov is up and running -- and that should be good news for the many US citizens who are trying to understand the brave new world of US health care following this year's passage of sweeping reform legislation." The site is intended to be a one-stop-shopping site for individuals looking to see what their insurance options are." According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, "Healthcare.gov will take some of the mystery out of shopping for health insurance."
NPR (7/2) prints an interview with Sebelius about the website, during which she said, "This is such a huge step forward in terms of somebody being able to sit in their living room, at their kitchen table, with a family member, get information, where nobody's trying to sell you anything." NPR's Andrea Seabrook noted, "That's key, says Sebelius. There's no marketing on the site, no soft sell in the guise of information -- just all the options, both public and private, arranged for each user personally." Seabrook also pointed out that "in October, it'll start showing price estimates. And it's all lined up so you can compare across companies."
The Hill's (7/2, Lillis) Healthwatch blog quotes Sebelius as saying about the site's usefulness, "Before you make decisions, you need to know what your options are. ... And too many Americans have no idea." But, with this website, "consumers can tap information on more than 5,500 private plans sponsored by more than 1,000 insurers nationwide, Sebelius said," as well as "every plan under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program." Meanwhile, a representative of Families USA called the site "pretty phenomenal," and added, "You're about three clicks away from personalized coverage."
CBS News (7/2, Hunter) says on its website, "The most interesting part of the site may be the search tool," which "allows people to click on their state, then choose responses to questions about their family and medical status. A program processes the data and then spits out the best insurance options available."