Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, has extended the 2017 enrollment deadline yet again — to midnight Monday — for those who want their coverage to start on Jan. 1.
The latest deadline now aligns with a new federal government deadline that allows consumers who live in states that use the HealthCare.gov exchange.
Anyone signing up after the new deadline won’t see their plan kick in until either Feb. 1 or March 1.
Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare,” began on Nov. 1 and ends on Jan. 31.
There’s one problem with the new deadline, however: Covered California said its CoveredCA.com website will be offline Sunday night for a regularly planned upgrade. The system will be down from 7 p.m. Sunday until 7 a.m. Monday.
Health insurance exchanges across the country are seeing an enrollment surge because many Americans are worried about President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law. But most health care experts — and even many Obamacare critics — believe that process will take at least a year. So they advise enrolling in a 2017 plan.
Anyone interested in learning more about enrolling should go to CoveredCA.com — except during the 12-hour period the website will be down — or call 800-300-1506.
