Obamacare Health Insurance Deadline 2016: Affordable Care Act Enrollment Extends For Two More Days

Federal health officials have extended two more days the deadline for consumers to sign up for health insurance on the federal Affordable Care Act site until 11:59 PM Dec. 17, due to unprecedented demand."We're extending the deadline to sign up for January 1 coverage until 11:59 p.m. PST on December 17," a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services read. According to the HHS, traffic on the website rise to an “all-time high” of 185,000 simultaneous customers Monday night, and demand continued to increase Tuesday morning.

The decision by the federal health agency came as several state-run marketplaces, including Minnesota and New York, also extended their time for picking 2016 plans."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," said Healthcare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan in a 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." People who want insurance coverage that starts later in 2016 will be able to enroll any time before Jan. 31.