Covered California gains only modest sign-ups at deadline

By James Poulos | Cal Watchdog

As the last blanket deadline extension arrived, late signups slowed down on Covered California, the state’s Obamacare exchange.

Difficulties brought on by the website’s inability to process a wave of applicants gave officials an opportunity to push back the original March 31 deadline. That, in turn, caused exchange administrators to require applicants to work with a “certified enrollment counselor” to navigate the often ponderous process.

During the two-week delay that followed this month, politicians and activists favoring the health care law scrambled to drum up more support. But in contrast to the March surge of online activity, the Covered California exchange added only about 70,000 new enrollees over the past two weeks.

at Cal Watchdog.