Over the past year or so, the website for the health insurance company we use has gotten slower and slower. During that same period, our insurance premiums have risen dramatically. I know that premiums go towards a lot more than just the website, but it’s pretty sad that even this very basic part of the healthcare experience continues to get worse every year.

In virtually any other industry, a glacially-slow website would make customers leave in droves. But in the high cost, low quality world of healthcare, this level of ineptitude is exactly what customers have come to expect. If anyone ever figures out a way to actually fix the US healthcare system — and I’m not convinced that the existing legislation will get us there — then I hope that usable and responsive websites are part of the package.