[Editor's note: This is the author's personal account ofgoing through HealthCare.gov.]

There are three ways to apply for coverage on the federalexchange: online, by phone or in person. Most would consider onlinethe easiest way to go — and now that consumers can shop for plansbefore deciding to register for an account, the process is lesstedious than it once was. But you’ll still find yourself clickingthrough page after page, entering more information than you’dimagine is necessary, before you can register for a plan.

Finding sample plans and prices isn’t as easy as you’d think,either; for one thing, the mechanisms that allow you to preview aplan keep moving around. At time of publication, you had to selectyour state — assuming you’re in a state using a federal exchangeinstead of a state one — and click the “preview plans and prices”hyperlink in the copy that pops up to explain how exchange coveragein Missouri will work. This takes you to an information page, “Howcan I see Marketplace health plans and prices before I fill out anapplication?” Find the hyperlinked “plans and sample prices” in thequestion-and-answer section and click that.