You may have noticed that healthcare.gov got an update today. In addition to making it easier to apply by phone and in other ways while they keep working on the bigger problems with the website, they made one very important but little noticed change. There is now a big "See Plans Now" button that just shows you what is available to you. No need to sign up for an account, verify your identity or anything. Just answer a few questions, give them your location and you'll see the cost and a brief description of every plan available to you.
How many people do you think have been wading through (and bogging down) the system just to take a look at whats out there but don't really plan on changing their insurance? A lot I bet. Now they can satisfy their curiosity without even giving an email address and if they do decide to apply, and aren't trying to qualify for subsidies, you can head straight to the website of whichever company you like the looks of and skip healthcare.gov all together - at least until they get it working.
The President can't say "go to the insurer's websites" because that would be send a terrible message (and give the GOP another hammer to swing with) but that's the real message here. The ACA is not a website. And they made a mistake by putting so much emphasis on it.