It's Not Just Your Taxes That Are Due Tonight

California residents have until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday to complete their applications for health insurance through Covered California. The original deadline for health coverage applications was March 31, but Covered California extended a grace period through today after its website was inundated with traffic on the last day of March. 

"We recognize that people may not have been able to get through, either by phone or on their computer, to enroll by the March 31 deadline, so we are allowing them to get the help of an assister to cross the finish line," Covered California executive director Peter Lee said in a statement. 
 
Consumers who created online accounts and completed the first page of the application by 11:59 p.m. on March 31 can simply log into their Covered California account and complete their application before midnight tonight in order to be eligible for coverage starting May 1. 
 
Consumers who were unable to start an application due to technical difficulties can still contact authorized certified enrollment counselors, certified insurance agents and county human service agencies and explain why they missed the deadline. The certified assisters can help them complete an application and select a plan by tonight. Consumers can find a certified assister at www.CoveredCa.com. 
 
Covered California is the state's health insurance marketplace under the federal Affordable Care Act. Covered California allows consumers to shop for plans from a number of providers and access subsidies they may be eligible for. Today's deadline does not affect low- and no-cost Medi-Cal insurance enrollment, which continues year-round through the Covered California website.

—By Bay City News Service