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Arizonans Have More Time To Buy Health Insurance Under ACA

By Bret Jaspers
Published: Monday, December 16, 2019 - 2:09pm
Updated: Monday, December 16, 2019 - 2:10pm

The open enrollment deadline for people buying health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace has been extended.

Arizonans looking to buy an individual insurance plan now have until 1 a.m. MST on Dec. 18. The website to browse and purchase coverage is healthcare.gov.

The federal agency in charge of the Affordable Care Act is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. In a press release, CMS said it’s extending open enrollment “in an abundance of caution” to help customers who tried to buy coverage as the enrollment period wound down but may have had problems.

CMS said more than a half million people nationwide enrolled using the online marketplace on Sunday. But some were asked to leave their names at the call center. 

"Those consumers who have already left their contact information at the call center do not need to come back and apply during this extension because a call center representative will follow up with them later this week,” the release said.

Some local Arizonans health care organizations have been offering help for people signing up for coverage offered on the exchange. 

“Consumers should not have had to contend with yesterday’s problems in the first place, but this announcement is a step in the right direction,” said Joshua Peck, former chief marketing officer for healthcare.gov during the Obama administration. He is a co-founder of the group Get America Covered.