Obama Admin. Extending Health Care Sign-Up Deadline via Online ‘Honor System’

The Obama administration is offering an extension for anyone who isn’t able to enroll on the federal health care website before the March 31st deadline, The Washington Post reports. The deadline is fast-approaching (next Monday), but the White House is saying people can qualify for an extension via an online “honor system” for anyone unable to register on time.

All you have to do is check a box on healthcare.gov saying you tried to enroll before the deadline. And this honor system means, as the Post reports, “the government will not try to determine whether the person is telling the truth.”

The argument from administration officials for this extension is that a “surge of people” attempting to sign up in the final few days before the deadline might cause a problem and some people wouldn’t be able to access the system in time. CMS Office of Communications Director Julie Bataille explains, “We are… making sure that we will be ready to help consumers who may be in line by the deadline to complete enrollment — either online or over the phone.”

However, according to an anonymous HHS official, the absolute, final, definitive, last deadline has not been set yet.

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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