Dec. 16--A surge in last-minute shopping for health insurance Tuesday led the federal government to extend the deadline by two days.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said consumers will have until 2 a.m. CST Friday to buy coverage that will start Jan. 1. The deadline had been 2 a.m. CST Wednesday for people to buy individual or family health plans on the public marketplace via Healthcare.gov.
"Because of the unprecedented demand and volume of consumers contacting our call center or visiting HealthCare.gov, we are extending the deadline to sign up for January 1 coverage," Kevin Counihan, CEO of the Health Insurance Marketplaces, said in a statement released Tuesday night.
"Hundreds of thousands have already selected plans over the last two days and approximately 1 million consumers have left their contact information to hold their place in line. Our goal is to provide access to affordable coverage, and the additional 48 hours will give consumers an opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for January 1 coverage."
HHS said that while the website and call center enrolled people throughout Tuesday, some consumers were asked to wait before logging in to HealthCare.gov or to speak to a call center representative. If consumers didn't finish the process, they have more time.
Free help is available by calling 800-318-2596.
As of Dec. 12, 154,947 consumers in Illinois have signed up for insurance through Healthcare.gov since open enrollment started on Nov. 1, according to the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services.
Nationally, more than 4.1 million people have purchased plans in the 38 states, including Illinois, that use the federal website. About 1.5 million were new customers.
asachdev@tribpub.com
