Deadline for Health Insurance Coverage by Jan. 1st Extended to Dec. 17th

(Phoenix, AZ) – December 15^th was the deadline to apply for health insurance coverage and receive it by January 1, 2016, but this year unprecedented numbers of people using HealthCare.gov caused delays and difficulty enrolling. In light of this, the deadline to sign up for January 1 coverage has been extended until 11:59 pm PST on December 17. Health Insurance Marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan gave the following statement:

“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 and opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for January 1 coverage.”

The final days leading into the December 15 deadline were the busiest HealthCare.gov had ever experienced. The deadline has been extended to provide access to affordable coverage to the largest possible number of consumers.