Covered California Confirms Monday Signup Deadline

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California is sticking to Monday's health insurance enrollment deadline, but consumers will get extra time to finish their applications.

Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, said Wednesday that people who start an application on the state's health insurance exchange by 11:59 p.m. Monday will have until April 15 to finish.

The announcement comes after the Obama administration said it would allow people additional time to sign up in certain situations.

With five days left to enroll for coverage this year, the state's health insurance exchange is encouraging Californians to sign up and avoid a tax penalty.

Covered California has surpassed 1 million enrollees, despite problems with its website and complaints about long wait times or unanswered calls for people seeking help through its service centers.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)