Key Health Insurance Deadline Arrives
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The deadline has arrived for Tri-State area residents who are still in need of health insurance in order to avoid a lapse in coverage beginning Jan. 1.
At least 100,000 New Yorkers had their old plans cancelled because of new regulations ushered in by the Affordable Care Act.
Monday was the original deadline to purchase a plan through New York's new online insurance marketplace, however, the state decided to give people an extra day due to an expected high volume of traffic on the online exchange. The new deadline is set for just shortly before midnight Tuesday.
EXTRA: More On The Affordable Care Act
The federal government also extended Monday's deadline to Tuesday for the 36 states that chose to use the federal HealthCare.gov system instead of providing their own marketplace.
Unlike the troubled federal marketplace, New York established its own, which has had some but fewer software problems.
New York has projected enrolling 1.1 million New Yorkers through the exchange and adding about 500,000 to Medicaid over the next three years. There are about 2.7 million uninsured people in New York.
On Monday, the New York exchange reported that 421,949 people had completed applications for individual or family coverage, while 188,546 of them had enrolled for insurance.
Open enrollment for coverage that would start later next year continues through March 31. Failure to sign up for health coverage by that deadline would mean paying a fine.
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