HEALTH INSURANCE It’s crunch time again for sign-ups

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama’s push to cover America’s uninsured faces another big test today.

This time, it’s not only how the website functions, but how well the program itself works for millions who are starting to count on it.

Midnight today, Pacific time is the deadline for new customers to pick a health plan that will take effect Jan. 1, and for current enrollees to make changes that could reduce premium increases ahead of the new year.

HealthCare.gov and state insurance websites are preparing for heavy online traffic before the deadline, which gives consumers in the East three hours into Tuesday to enroll.

Wait times at the federal call center started creeping up around the middle of last week, mainly due to a surge of current customers with questions about their coverage for next year.

Many will face higher premiums, although they could ease the hit by shopping online for a better deal. Counselors reported hold times of 20 minutes or longer for the telephone help line.

About 6.7 million people now have coverage through Obama’s signature law, which offers subsidized private insurance. The administration wants to increase that to 9.1 million in 2015.

To do that, the program will have to keep most of its current enrollees while signing up more than 2 million new paying customers.