Briefing the media on Sunday, the Obama Administration announced that it substantively met its goal of making the healthcare.gov website operational, allowing it to handle a larger volume of traffic and permit individuals to sign up for health insurance in the federally-run healthcare marketplaces in states that are not running their own exchanges. The White House touted new numbers that showed it signed up over 100,000 people for coverage in November. That figure far eclipsed the paltry number of people who were able to sign up in October, at the launch month, when it was stymied by a failed system. The White House said that more than 750,000 visitor hit the site on Monday, the first business day after the relaunch.
People who want coverage starting January 1, 2014 will have until December 23rd to sign up and pay the initial premium for their plan. All others who are required to use the exchanges to secure health insurance will have until March. President Obama announced that he will secure coverage for him and his family by signing up on the Washington, DC exchange. States that are running their own exchanges report surges in sign ups as well, although HHS has yet to provide an updated aggregate nationwide figure.
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