EDITOR’S NOTE: This information will be updated continually as we receive more information about extensions. Be sure to bookmark this page and check back.
Open enrollment for 2015 ended last night … sort of. In all but two states, there’s at least some sort of extension. But in most cases, the extension applies to people who tried to enroll by February 15 but couldn’t, and most of the extensions only last for about a week. So if you haven’t enrolled yet, you might still be able to sign up … but don’t delay!
HealthCare.gov extension
For the 37 states where HHS is running enrollments through HealthCare.gov, the extension applies to people who
“attest that they tried to enroll by the deadline but experienced a technical issue with HealthCare.gov that prevented them from completing enrollment by February 15, or experienced an extensive call center wait on February 13, 14, or February 15.”
The extension is valid from February 16 to February 22, and applies to people in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
People who are eligible for this extension and who complete the enrollment process by February 22 will have coverage effective March 1.
State-run exchange extensions
Eleven state-run exchanges have issued extensions, although they vary in terms of who is eligible and how long the extensions last.
Two exchanges are offering extensions for everyone (even if you didn’t start enrolling by the 15th):
- Massachusetts (through February 23)
- Rhode Island (through February 23)
Ten state-run exchanges have extensions for some enrollees:
- Minnesota: Extension runs through February 20 for people who created an account or filled out the application by February 15, but didn’t finish the plan selection on time. Minnesota also has an extension for people who submitted a paper application or a manual request for identity verification by February 15. This extension is open-ended, but applicants must finish the process “as soon as possible” and MNsure staff will be assisting them.
- California: Extension lasts until February 20 for people who tried to enroll or make an appointment with an assistor by February 15.
- Colorado: Anyone who started the process by February 15 will have additional time. The exchange posted a notice on Facebook letting these enrollees know that “we will continue to work with you over the next few days to finish up.”
- Connecticut: Anyone who made a “good faith attempt to enroll” by February 15 will have extra time to finish the process.
- District of Columbia: Anyone who started the process by February 15 will have extra time to finish enrolling.
- Hawaii: Anyone who started the process by February 15 will have extra time to finish enrolling.
- Idaho: Anyone who submitted an application by February 15 has until February 21 to complete the plan selection.
- Maryland: Anyone who began the enrollment process by February 15 will have until February 28 to finish. Enrollments completed by February 18 will have coverage effective March 1. Enrollments completed from February 19 to February 28 will have coverage effective April 1.
- New York: Anyone who took “steps to enroll” by February 15 (including starting the online application, contacting the call center, or making an appointment with a navigator) will have until February 28 to finish enrolling. Enrollments completed between February 16 and February 28 will have coverage effective April 1.
- Washington: Extension applies to people who tried to apply by February 15 OR to people who file their taxes after February 15 and find out that they owe a penalty for being uninsured last year. The extension runs through April 17.
No enrollment extension
There are two state-run exchanges that have not extended open enrollment: