The Obama administration is extending the health coverage enrollment period for Obamacare, allowing people under certain circumstances to sign up after the March 31 deadline, according to official government sources.
The U.S. government will soon issue these new guidelines for consumers in the 36 states served by Obamacare and its website, HealthCare.gov. Only those who had previously sought out federal health insurance but were prevented from doing so because of technical problems will be given this extension.
The administration published in the Federal Register on Friday new regulations permitting state-run marketplaces new flexibility in setting up insurance coverage dates for people who sign up during special enrollment periods.
President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires most Americans to enroll in health coverage by March 31 or pay a penalty. The guidelines are not yet clear on what sort of effort potential applicants have to put it in order to qualify for a special enrollment period.
The administration has granted a special enrollment period before. Last December, thousands of people who were unable to complete the necessary steps on HealthCare.gov were given an enrollment extension for coverage beginning Jan. 1.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), aware of past technical glitches on the HealthCare.gov website, announced that it would not ignore people who have problems enrolling.
"Open enrollment ends March 31. We are preparing for a surge in enrollment, and if consumers are in line on the 31st and can't finish, we won't shut the door on them. To be clear, if you don't have health insurance and do not start to sign up by the deadline, you can't get coverage again until next year," HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Last October and November, HealthCare.gov infamously experienced technical difficulties, but most of those issues have now been sorted out. So far, more than 5 million people have signed up for private coverage through the federal site and 14 state-run marketplaces.
State officials in Maryland and Nevada are implementing similar measures because their state-run healthcare marketplaces have also had difficulty handling so many applicants.
