Sebelius adds Christmas levity to frustrating ObamaCare shopping experience?

FILE: Nov. 6, 2013: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on Capitol Hill. (REUTERS)

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, embattled over glitch-plagued HealthCare.gov, is suggesting some standard holiday shopping tips for Americans trying to buy insurance on the website.

In an apparent attempt at holiday levity amid coal-tinged criticism, Sebelius suggests Americans “avoid the lines” by shopping on the site during off-peak hours, after weeks of the ObamaCare site crashing because of too many visitors at once.

“As the holiday shopping season heads into high gear, we have some consumer friendly shopping tips for individuals looking for quality affordable health insurance,” writes Sebelius on a blog post Friday for the Huffington Post.

She also suggests there’s “no need to rush,” considering Americans have 23 shopping days in December to purchase coverage that begins January 1, another apparent attempt at averting more volume-related crashes after the Nov. 30 deadline -- when such problems were to be fixed to accommodate the “vast majority” of online shoppers.

“And unlike Black Friday, [insurance policies] won’t run out,” writes Sebelius who recommends American who need a personal “ObamaCare” shopper use the 800 call center, which is open 24/7 and has operators to accommodate 150 languages.

“We are excited for shoppers to visit HealthCare.gov, where the consumer experience is much improved from October 1,” Sebelius concludes. “We continue to work every day to ensure that every American who wants affordable health insurance has access to these new, quality coverage options.”