ACA Enrollment Deadline Extended to Monday

According to federal officials, the deadline for consumers to sign up for 2017 health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces has been extended through Monday, December 17.

It was estimated that nearly one million consumers were in the process of signing up for health care coverage at the end of Thursday, the original deadline.

“Nearly a million consumers have left their contact information to hold their place in line,” Kevin Counihan, CEO of Healthcare.gov, said in a press release. “Our goal is to provide affordable coverage to everyone seeking it before the deadline, and these two additional business days will give consumers an opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for January 1 coverage.”

Consumers will now have 2 additional days to purchase coverage that will go into effect on January 1, 2017. If consumers who are uninsured do not sign up, they will face a penalty next year. However, for existing consumers, the federal marketplaces will remain open until January 31, 2017 to shop around and swap plans.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, approximately four million people had chosen ACA health plans by the start of the week. The Obama Administration is hoping for record-breaking health care sign ups in its final open enrollment period. The administration predicted an average of slightly more than 11 million consumers will be covered in 2017.

“These two additional business days will give consumers an opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for January 1 coverage,” Mr Counihan said.

This is the second consecutive year that federal officials granted additional time for consumers to obtain health care coverage. 

—Julie Mazurkiewicz