Obamacare Enrollment Ends How It Began
Published at
The White House(WASHINGTON) — The first Obamacare enrollment season is coming to an end much like it began — heavy traffic to HealthCare.gov and many technical glitches.
Ahead of a midnight deadline, the federal online insurance marketplace was down for unexpected maintenance Monday morning.
Users hoping to sign-up for a plan were greeted with that now infamous warning screen, “The system isn’t available.”
The site started coming back online around 8 a.m. ET.
“The tech team extended the regular maintenance window this morning,” Health and Human Services spokesman Joanne Peters told ABC News. Consumers were able to enter an email address and get invited back once the repairs were complete.
Despite the hiccup, the site successfully handled record daily traffic of 2.9 million visitors over the weekend, officials said.
White House officials expect Monday to be their biggest day for sign-ups. As of Friday, the administration reported 6 million people had signed up for insurance plans through state and federal exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act.
There is still time to enroll (though not 16 days, as the White House website incorrectly suggested Monday morning). Most Americans are required to possess health insurance policies by midnight or they will be subject to a fine of $95 or 1 percent of household income above $10,150 for individuals or $20,300 for married couples, whichever is greater.
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio