Leonardo da Vinci, who I'm told knew a thing or two, once said,“It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.”

It's probably one of many reasons why so many of my brokerfriends had such a miserable time in mid-December: Dec. 15, ofcourse, was the deadline for would-be enrollees to sign upinsurance effective Jan. 1. So, naturally, most of them waiteduntil the last weekend to start asking for help—much to thewhite-knuckled frustration of brokers across the country.

They vented on social media—including more than a few picturesdocumenting wait times on the HealthCare.gov hotline—although itlooked like it was more of a lukewarm line at best. A few eventexted me, raging against the machine, the gears and the soylentgreen it kicked out.

(One was still taking calls after 10 p.m. Sunday night.)

I know I've made this analogy before, just maybe not quite sobluntly, but consumers (like voters) are like kids.

Like it or not, they've known about this deadline for months.But they resisted, as da Vinci would point out, as long as theycould.

I'm sure for many of them, it's confusing. So they don't want todeal with it. Nobody likes feeling stupid. And most hate asking forhelp (or directions).

I'm equally certain it strikes many as annoyance they simplydon't have time for. Until they don't have any time left.

Then there's the obvious answer: money. It's the same reason somany people are dropping their tax forms into post office boxes onApril 15. Who wants to pay that money any sooner than they have to?Especially if they don't think they're getting anything in return?And who wants to be forced to do anything on top of all that?

And brokers are caught in the classic “blame the messenger”conundrum. Sure, the feds can change the rules. The judges can killthe subsidies. The states—such as Idaho and New York, forexample—can change the deadlines. And the carriers can apparentlydo whatever they hell they want with the premiums. But guess whoends up being the bad guy? That's right, the broker.

Remember, these are consumers who barely know the differencebetween a deductible and a premium. You think they're aware enoughto blame someone other than the poor sap on the other end of theline who just told them that coverage they had last year is gone?Or, their premium just doubled—for half the coverage? Who's gonnaget cussed out? Not Sylvia Burwell.

It sucks now, and I'm sorry. Each and every one of you is anunsung hero. You're lifesavers for these people and they don't evenknow it.