Health care exchange deadline extended through Dec. 17

Officials have given health care customers an extra 48 hours to sign up for coverage through the federal health exchange.

Amid “unprecedented demand” to enroll in health coverage for Jan. 1, the Obama administration has pushed the deadline to Dec. 17 from Dec. 15.

As the initial deadline approached on Tuesday, record numbers of customers flocked to the HealthCare.gov site. As of Tuesday morning, officials reported that numbers hit 185,000 customers shopping simultaneously. They also took about a million calls at the call center.

“Hundreds of thousands have already selected plans over the last two days and approximately 1 million consumers have left their contact information to hold their place in line,” Kevin Counihan, CEO of HealthCare.gov, said in a statement late Tuesday. “Our goal is to provide access to affordable coverage, and the additional 48 hours will give consumers an opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for Jan. 1 coverage.”

Some states, including New York and Minnesota, have also extended the deadlines to sign up for coverage through the state-based exchanges.

As of Dec. 5, about 2.8 million individuals have made plan selections since Nov. 1, according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.