Deadline To Enroll In Health Care Approaches
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The deadline to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is quickly approaching.
The deadline to sign up for those living in states that chose to use the federal online marketplace is Monday night at midnight.
States that set up and run their own online insurance marketplace, including New York and Connecticut, have set their own deadlines.
Both New York and Connecticut's online marketplaces set the same deadline as the federal website: Monday, March 31 at midnight.
New York's health care enrollment website posted an alert warning residents if they do not sign up before the deadline, they may not be eligible for coverage until 2015.
So far, about four out of five people enrolling have qualified for tax credits to reduce the cost of their premiums, 1010 WINS reported.
There are several ways to apply for health care coverage.
You can sign up online by going to HealthCare.gov or your state insurance exchange. If you don't know what your state marketplace is called, HealthCare.gov will direct you.
You can call 1-800-318-2596 to sign up by phone or get help from an enrollment specialist.
Healthcare.gov | Nystateofhealth.ny.gov | Accesshealthct.com
You can also check online for sign-up centers that may be open locally, offering in-person assistance.
And if you started an application by Monday but didn't finish, perhaps because of errors, missing information or website glitches, you can take advantage of a grace period. The government said it will accept paper applications until April 7 and take as much time as necessary to handle unfinished cases on HealthCare.gov.
According to Connecticut's online marketplace website, those without insurance who do not enroll in health care by the deadline on Monday will either pay a penalty of 1 percent of their gross household income over the federal income tax filing threshold or $95 per individual, whichever amount is greater.
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