Unlike other states, the Mass exchange website has been operational for years thanks to RomneyCare. Why all of a sudden it no longer works is baffling.
Via Boston Globe:
The state has extended to Dec. 31 the deadline to sign up for health insurance through its online marketplace, allowing an extra week for applicants who have battled a website fraught with technical problems and have spent hours waiting for customer service.
Monday had been the deadline to apply for coverage to start Jan. 1. People were scrambling to meet it. The call center was overwhelmed, and the website was working even more slowly than normal because of high volume, Massachusetts Health Connector spokesman Jason Lefferts said Monday.
Little progress has been made in fixing the website, frustrating thousands of people who are uninsured or whose insurance plan expires this month who may be uninsured in January without coverage through the state. Connector officials said they have put most improvements on hold and have focused on processing applications offline and negotiating the extension with insurers.
“This new timeframe ensures that even more people can get into the best plan for themselves and their family in time for January,” Connector executive director Jean Yang said in a press release.
The decision came on the same day the Obama administration quietly issued a one-day extension for people in more than 30 states who must use the federal insurance website to apply for tax credits created under the Affordable Care Act.