The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced Monday it would offer additional enrollment time for people who ran into trouble signing up before the original Saturday deadline.
There’s still time to sign up for Obamacare in Washington state.
The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced Monday it would offer additional enrollment time for people who ran into trouble signing up before the original Saturday deadline.
People who still need to enroll in a 2019 plan should call the Washington Health Benefit Exchange’s Customer Support Center at 1-855-923-4633 by Thursday. The center will respond to inquires from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Thursday. After contacting Customer Support, you will have until Dec. 28 to select a plan, which will be effective Jan. 1.
Washington this year shortened its enrollment period by a month to match the federal government’s.
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In announcing the extension, the exchange cited the shortened open-enrollment period “along with other barriers.” On Twitter, Gov. Jay Inslee’s communications office pointed out that the extension came after recent power outages and “unexpected system maintenance.”
More than 11,000 people signed up for insurance coverage during the final two days of the open-enrollment period this year, according to the exchange. Some others started the application process but did not finish by the deadline.
In total, 222,636 people selected a 2019 plan through the state’s online marketplace, Washington Healthplanfinder, down by about 19,400 from the 2018 open-enrollment period, according to the exchange. The number of current customers renewing their coverage increased by 20 percent.
CEO Pam MacEwan said in a news release the exchange saw “remarkable volume in the days before the deadline.”
“The additional time this week is an opportunity for individuals and families who were not able to sign up for a plan to take those critical final steps,” MacEwan said.