This time last year, Healthcare.gov and state exchanges were a huge source of frustration and the butt of jokes.

Not only do health officials want to avoid those woes, they should focus on making the whole experience better.

Terrible as many exchange and Medicaid enrollment experiences may have been in the first open enrollment, the Affordable Care Act’s assistance programs did work largely as intended, if not with great speed, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report by Georgetown University health researchers who provided technical assistance to navigators and assisters in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio.

“Those who sought information and help from sources other than the website — including Navigators, application assisters, and insurance agents — were more likely to enroll in coverage,” wrote research professor JoAnn Volk and colleagues. “It is not likely these consumers would be able to understand what is required to apply for financial help and choose a plan without the kind of intensive help that is provided through navigators and assisters.”

One of the biggest challenges to enrollment is eligibility determination, which are designed for a generic applicant and don’t “address the myriad ways in which households are formed, income is gained, and coverage is accessed,” Volk and colleagues wrote.

Take the case of Alice, for instance. The 50-year-old woman who lives with her 28-year-old daughter, Jane, and cares for her two grandchildren. Jane claims Alice as a dependent on her taxes, and has insurance from her employer that covers her and her children, but it won’t cover Alice.

There was also Robert, who wanted to buy a plan for himself and his son, John, who lives with his ex-wife. His divorce agreement requires him to provide coverage for John, but he doesn’t claim him as a dependent on his taxes.

In addition to the 8 million-plus Americans who will be renewing or enrolling in new plans during this open enrollment, as many as five million more people will enroll for the first time.

“The remaining uninsured, including those who are projected to enroll for the first time this fall, may be more difficult to reach than those who sought and enrolled in coverage during the first open enrollment,” Volk and colleagues explained.They are also more likely to be Spanish speakers, have less than a high-school education and more likely to live in the South, where consumer assistance resources have been more sparse.

“It is penny wise and pound foolish for marketplaces not to heavily invest in consumer outreach and assistance,” Volk and colleagues warned. “Yet both the FFM (federally-facilitated marketplace) and many SBMs (state-based marketplaces) are reducing the level of support,” with the second round of federal grants awarded in mid-September, and the level of support has dropped from $67 to $60 million. Colorado’s 2015 budget for consumer assistance, for instance, is $12.3 million less than in 2014, and Connecticut’s assisters are seeing an 8 percent reduction.