The Department of Health and Human Services has extended the 2015 Obamacare deadline for select customers stuck in the system, after reports some people were met with website delays and phone call backlogs when trying to sign up.
“We know many of you worked hard to enroll in a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace,” a statement read on the Healthcare.gov blog. “Despite your best efforts, you may not have been able to complete your application and select a plan.”
According to HHS, the special enrollment period will start on February 16, 2015, and end on February 22, 2015, in time for healthcare coverage on March 1.
The special extension applies to users who tried to enroll by the deadline but experienced technical issues with HealthCare.gov or long waits on the phone.
Buzzfeed’s Evan McMorris-Santoro reported that a special auto response was delivered to customers who called Sunday night to sign up for insurance, requesting their phone numbers due to “high call volume” but assuring users that their call would hold their place in line before the deadline.
The White House worked steadily to promote the 2015 deadline for healthcare coverage on February 15 — even featuring President Obama in a Buzzfeed video reminding Americans of the deadline.
The Associated Press reports that Reps. Sander Levin (D-MI), Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) plan to urge the White House to offer special sign-up opportunity for uninsured taxpayers facing a fine.
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