Most of MNsure's website shut down this weekend

Most of Minnesota's troubled online health insurance website will be shut down this weekend while improvements are made.

As a result, people who want to use the MNsure site to apply for insurance will have to wait until Monday.

MNsure's website has been a source of much consumer frustration as at least 2,000 users have been stuck in the process of applying for insurance online.

To improve the site, tech workers will take down MNsure's ability to create accounts this weekend. MNsure originally said consumers would be able to peruse plans on the site, but Friday afternoon the agency said the ability to shop for plans would be taken down as well. A MNsure news release said website visitors "will be able to find consumer information" throughout the weekend.

On Thursday, the site crashed and was unavailable for at least seven hours.

MNsure's board of directors earlier in the week called for an end-to-end analysis of the website's problems to be started as soon as feasible. More information is expected to be released next Wednesday at the MNsure board meeting.

Consumers needing coverage Feb. 1 will need to enroll in a plan by Jan. 15.