Obamacare Enrollment Deadline Extended for HealthCare.gov Victims

The Obama administration announced late Tuesday that consumers who say they tried to sign up for health insurance on the federal exchange before March 31 will be able to get coverage past the deadline.

The new guidelines were first reported by The Washington Post, which added that consumers will have until mid-April to sign up for new coverage. Administration officials would not confirm that detail, saying only that more information would be coming soon.

Consumers will have to attest to their circumstances as part of the late application process, an administration official said. Details on who will qualify for the extra time to enroll have yet to be released.

"We are experiencing a surge in demand and are making sure that we will be ready to help consumers who may be in line by the deadline to complete enrollment," said Aaron Albright, a spokesman at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health and Human Services agency in charge of the federal exchange.