Barbara K Iverson

With so much hinging on millennials signing up for Obamacare, it’s baffling that ACA administrators completely ignored how millennials get their information. Unlike older generations, millennials are not tied to their computers — they are a mobile-first generation. In fact, 45 percent of millennials report that they do most of their online browsing from a cellphone and are heavy users of mobile apps, according to the Pew Research Center.
At home, millennials are very likely to use a tablet, such as an iPad, to gather information and buy products. With more than 60 million Americans expected to own a tablet by the end of this year and smartphone use at an all-time high, you can bet that the vast majority of millennials are accessing HealthCare.gov through one of these mobile devices.
When they do, what they find is a big letdown. While a few parts of the website are optimized for mobile viewing, the sign-up mechanism is not intended for mobile users. In fact, one Web page covering “how to sign up with your mobile phone” instructs the user to call for more information to enroll. Given the mobile world we live in, this boggles the mind that anyone thought this was acceptable. This may be one of the reasons that insurers are reporting that insurance buyers have been much older than expected, and this may jeopardize the financial health of the program.