Obamacare: Deadline to sign up for federal health insurance coverage Sunday at 12 a.m.
Open enrollment for Obamacare 2.0 ends Sunday night, meaning those who want insurance have to at least start their applications by then. The federal exchange and some states are giving those folks a few more days to finish picking a plan if they are unable to do so by the deadline. New Yorkers, for instance, have until Feb 28, and Californians until Feb. 20 to complete signing up.
The administration, state exchanges and advocacy groups are doing a final push this weekend, holding scores of enrollment fairs, sending multiple emails and running ads.
They are touting the subsidies to help people pay for their premiums — an average of $268 a month on the federal exchange. Some 87% of those who’ve signed up on the federal exchange so far qualify for subsidies.
A few are using the stick, reminding the uninsured of the penalty for not having coverage, which rises to 2% of income or $325, whichever is greater, for 2015.
President Obama even did a goofy Buzzfeed video to highlight the deadline.
The exchanges are prepared for a crush of traffic this weekend, as procrastinators race to get in under the deadline. Interest traditionally picks up just before enrollment’s close.
Some applicants hit a bump Saturday when a technical issue left the federal exchange unable to verify their income and complete the sign-up process. Healthcare.gov officials said the issue was resolved later in the day, and consumers who weren’t able to submit their applications should return to the site or contact the call center to complete their enrollment.
Consumers who can’t meet the submission deadline because of a technical issue will be provided with a “special enrollment period,” they said.
Though open enrollment officially ends Sunday, consumer advocates are pushing the administration to extend the deadline so people hit with penalties for being uninsured in 2014 can enroll for this year. So far, officials have not budged, though they opened the door in a recent call with reporters saying they’ll address the penalty issue later if it arises.
For more on this, visit CNN Money.
