[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.

From here, you’ll be directed to indicate whether you needindividual/family or small-business coverage and whether you wanthealth or dental insurance. And at the bottom of these pages is anote that indicates these prices don’t incorporate reduced coststhrough tax credits; final price quotes are only available aftercompleting an application — which makes it difficult to decide whattype of plan you might choose.

For a family of three in Boone County, Mo., an income between$19,530 and $78,120 can qualify you for discounts; a catastrophicinsurance plan, which covers only catastrophic health careincidents, starts at $473.52 for a family of three, and a goldplan, which covers up to 80 percent of the total cost of care, willrun a family of three as much as $1,177.16 per month.

Registering for an account involves entering an email address,selecting a user name and password and choosing three securityquestions. A confirmation email gets sent, and after entering youruser name and password, you’re finally in.

This leads to the first of the really personal informationrequests: Social Security numbers, phone numbers and streetaddresses. After filling in those fields, you’re directed to a pagethat confirms your identity, and then — after more confirmationscreens — you can finally start shopping for plans.

Overall, there are more than a dozen screens to click throughbefore you can actually buy a plan, and that’s assuming the site isup and running as it should be.

Also read: What went wrong with HealthCare.Gov – and what now