Announced today, the White House will allow an extra 24-hours for people to sign up for health insurance on the federally-run health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov. This new deadline applies to those who want coverage on January 1, 2014.
According to reports by the NY Times and Washington Post, the official deadline for purchasing insurance remains 11:59 p.m. on Monday December 23, 2013. However, "because of record traffic on the website this morning, officials wanted to reassure the public — and themselves — that people who sought coverage in good faith would be covered."
According to reports, the administration does not want to encourage people to wait until Tuesday, because it fears more record website traffic numbers.
“We recognize that many have chosen to make their final decisions on today’s deadline, and we are committed to making sure they can do so,” said Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Anticipating high demand and the fact that consumers may be enrolling from multiple time zones, we have taken steps to make sure that those who select a plan through tomorrow will get coverage for Jan. 1.”
Open enrollment for the new individual health plans goes through March 31, 2014.
Obama administration quietly extends health-care enrollment deadline by a day (Washington Post)
At midnight Monday, the official deadline arrives for Americans to sign up through the new federal health insurance exchange for health plans that begin Jan. 1. But, without any public announcement, Obama administration officials have changed the rules so that people will have an extra day to enroll, according to two individuals with knowledge of the switch.
Deadline for Health Care Sign-Up Is Extended by a Day (NY Times)
The White House has decided to allow an extra 24 hours for people to sign up for insurance on HealthCare.gov, through the end of the day Tuesday, to receive coverage beginning on Jan. 1, according to a senior official familiar with the change.
According to these reports, President Obama has selected a Bronze health plan. Have you purchased a health plan through HealthCare.gov or your state health insurance exchange?
