Obamacare Open Enrollment: Delays Reported In Final Days

WASHINGTON, DC — Open enrollment for Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — health insurance plans is over at the end of Friday, Dec. 15, for those states that use the federal marketplace to sign people up. Millions of people looking to buy insurance on the individual market, rather than through their employer, may have to wait another year before they can enroll if they don't sign up by the end of the day.

However, many states run their own health insurance marketplaces, and some have longer enrollment periods than than the federal website, Healthcare.gov. To find out where you should be signing up for health care, and how long you have to do it, enter your zip code here.

If you do not sign up for a health care plan, you may be subject to a financial penalty amounting to hundreds of dollars in taxes — though this fine could be repealed by pending legislation in Congress.

Even if you miss the enrollment period, there are other opportunities to sign up. If you lose health insurance that you were already signed up for in 2018, change zip code or county, get married, have a baby, or experience another qualifying event, you will be allowed to sign up for a new health care plan on the exchanges at that time.

Consumer advocates reported some glitches in the final days for "Obamacare" sign-ups, although the Trump administration largely seemed to be keeping its promise of a smooth enrollment experience.

In Illinois, for example, some consumers who successfully completed an application for financial assistance through HealthCare.gov got a message saying they would likely be eligible to buy a health plan, "but none are available to you in your area." That information was incorrect because every county in the nation currently has at least one health insurer offering plans under the Affordable Care Act for next year.

Interest in enrollment has surged this year, even as the Trump administration cut the sign-up season in half, reducing it from roughly from 90 days to 45 days. The truncated period is expected to reduce the number of people signing up.

About 4.7 million people have reportedly signed up so far this year. In the enrollment period beginning in 2016, about 9.2 million people signed up in total.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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