Illinois Department of Insurance Encourages Consumers to Take Advantage of Deadline Extension for ACA Open Enrollment

Chicago -Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace is now extended until December 18, 2019 midnight PST (2 a.m. CST). Consumers now have an additional two days to enroll in an ACA health insurance plan to have coverage that begins in January 2020.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the website and the call center for enrollment was contacted by more than a half million consumers on Sunday, December 15th.  Some consumers may not have completed their online enrollment and callers to the helpline may have received a recorded message asking for their name and other contact information. CMS says that if consumers already provided their information, a call center representative will follow up this week.

"Illinoisans deserve quality health care and it is clear that consumers in Illinois and throughout the country want to enroll in health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act," said IDOI Director Robert Muriel. "We encourage Illinoisans to take the opportunity offered by this extension to enroll in an ACA marketplace plan to get comprehensive health insurance coverage for the new year."

Get Covered Illinois (GCI), is the official health insurance marketplace or "exchange" where Illinois consumers can purchase health insurance coverage and apply for subsidies from the federal government.

Consumers can still visit getcoveredillinois.gov and click on the "Shop/Enroll" button to find the right health plan for their needs or go to healthcare.gov