HHS Secretary Sebelius takes to the pages of USA Today to champion the improvements on HealthCare.gov

Yet, far too many of those who have visitedHealthCare.gov have experienced problems. These problems are unacceptable.

So we’ve been working 24/7 to make improvements, and more consumers are successfully shopping online and enrolling in a health plan each week.

As a result, today’s user experience on HealthCare.gov is a dramatic improvement over where it was on Oct. 1. The site is running faster, it’s responding quicker and it can handle larger amounts of traffic.

Now, there will be exceptions, and (as with any website) we will continue to make improvements. But the system is now working smoothly for the vast majority of users.

And hurry up. To be covered by January 1, you have 3 weeks!

And remember, you have until Dec. 23 to sign up for coverage that will start Jan. 1, and until March 31 to get coverage in 2014.

But not all at once.

For times when there is high demand, there is a new online queuing system that allows users to opt to receive an e-mail when it’s a better time to come back.