SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – New Mexico officials are making a final push to enroll individuals in health insurance plans before a looming deadline under President Barack Obama’s health care law.
Open enrollment through a federal online marketplace ends at midnight Monday.
New Mexico is using the federally operated website to sign up individuals.
The state’s health insurance exchange and advocacy groups hosted enrollment events during the weekend and more were planned on Monday to encourage people to begin an enrollment application before the deadline.
The Obama administration has said it will give extra time for some people to sign up for taxpayer-subsidized health coverage. That includes those who’ve started an application, but weren’t able to finish before Monday’s deadline.
About 15,000 New Mexicans had signed up for health plans through the end of February.
The federal health care website is stumbling on deadline day for sign-ups.
Visitors to HealthCare.gov this morning have been getting messages that the site is down for maintenance. Some visitors have been directed to a virtual waiting room. Administration spokesman Aaron Albright says the website undergoes “regular nightly maintenance” during off-peak hours and that period was extended because of a “technical problem.”
Albright says people trying to sign up will be able to leave their email and “will be invited back when the system is available.”