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Health insurance

Feds, some states extend open enrollment for two days amid record demand

Jayne O'Donnell
USA TODAY

Federal officials late Tuesday extended the deadline for consumers to sign up for health insurance on the federal Healthcare.gov site until 11:59 PM Dec. 17 due to "unprecedented demand."

The additional two days from the previous Dec. 15 deadline will allow consumers in the 38 states that use Healthcare.gov to sign up for plans that take effect Jan. 1. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services granted similar extensions during the last two open enrollments.

"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," Healthcare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan said in an emailed statement. "Our goal is to provide access to affordable coverage, and the additional 48 hours will give consumers an opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for January 1 coverage."

The federal site was overwhelmed at times and reports of wait times for the call center varied from the two minutes CMS said some people had to wait on hold to an hour or more that insurance brokers including Health Agents for America CEO Ronnell Nolan said they were experiencing.

Alina Nurieva (R)  sits with Gabriela Cisneros, an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, as she picks an insurance plan available in the third year of the Affordable Care Act at a store setup in the Mall of the Americas on November 2, 2015 in Miami, Florida.

The 1 million callers Healthcare.gov's call centers had Monday were the most ever handled, leading to this being the busiest period the site has experienced over the now-three open enrollment periods.   
Other states, including New York and Minnesota, also announced extensions.

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