[Update March 31st 2013] Extension to purchase health coverage may now be in the works. The original deadline to purchase coverage, before incurring penalties was March 31st, 2014. But a number of state exchanges, like Covered California said that, “Individuals who start an online application by 11:59 p.m. on March 31, 2014, will have until 11:59 p.m. on April 15, 2014, to complete their application and select a plan“. The official site, healthcare.gov, is not clear on the extension as yet but odds are that if the state exchanges are providing extensions, the federal site will follow soon.
The Health and Human Services department which oversees the Obamacare program, recently indicated that “special exception sign-ups” would be given, and when people would no longer be allowed to claim they were eligible for that status. Officials from the HHS said that people who started their application for Obamacare insurance on the federally run exchange HealthCare.gov, which sells plans in 36 states, would be able to enroll past the deadline if they experienced technical problems signing up. A screenshot or proof of technical issue would be required.
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