Insurers extend payment deadline for Jan. 1 coverage to Jan. 10

California, Connecticut and Washington, as well as some other states, have indicated that they will follow slightly different deadlines.

The New York Times: Health Insurers Extend Deadline For First Premiums
Insurance companies, worried about potential chaos next month as people begin seeking coverage under the federal health care law without completing the necessary paperwork, have agreed to give consumers an extra 10 days to pay their first-month premiums, according to a statement from the companies' trade group on Wednesday (Abelson, 12/18).

The Washington Post: Insurers Volunteer To Extend Payment Deadline For Health-Care Coverage To Jan. 10 
Just a few days remain before a Dec. 23 deadline to sign up for coverage that will begin Jan. 1, and the last-minute blitz that federal health officials have predicted appears to be materializing. It puts intense pressure on insurers to send bills to their new customers -; and on consumers to pay right away. Under government rules, coverage cannot begin until people pay their first month's premium. Extending the payment deadline creates breathing room for the industry and for people who are eager for their insurance to begin, averting a holiday week in which tens of thousands of Americans might not know whether their coverage would start on time (Goldstein, 12/18).

Los Angeles Times: Health Insurers Extend Obamacare Payment Deadlines
Health insurers nationally said they would give consumers until Jan. 10 to pay for health coverage starting Jan. 1 as part of government-run exchanges under the federal healthcare law. But some state exchanges, including those of California and Connecticut, indicated they would stick with slightly different deadlines that were already extended. The extensions come amid a sharp rise in applicants and continued difficulties for many people trying to navigate the sign-up process (Terhune, 12/18).

The Associated Press: Insurers Allow More Time To Pay Under Health Law
Consumers anxious over tight insurance deadlines and lingering computer problems during the holidays will get extra time to pay their premiums under President Barack Obama's health care law, insurers announced Wednesday. The board of the industry's biggest trade group -; America's Health Insurance Plans -; said consumers who select a plan by Dec. 23 will now have until Jan. 10 to pay their first month's premium. That's 10 extra days beyond a New Year's Eve deadline set by the government (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/18).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Health Insurers Allow Some To Pay Premiums Late
Health insurers acceded to a request from the Obama administration and said they would delay a deadline for some people to pay their insurance premiums. The move is part of the last-minute rush to get ready for the full rollout of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, on Jan. 1. People buying coverage on the new health-insurance exchanges created by the law must choose a policy by Dec. 23 in order to get coverage starting in the new year (Landers, 12/18).

Reuters: Some Obamacare Shoppers Can Pay January 10 for January 1 Coverage
Individuals who select their health insurance plan on the exchanges set up under the national healthcare reform law by the December 23 deadline will have until January 10 to pay and still receive coverage as of January 1, 2014, the nation's largest organization of insurers said on Wednesday. Some insurers had already announced similar moves individually, but now plans selling insurance on either the state or federal exchanges will voluntarily honor the delayed payment schedule, America's Health Insurance Plans said in a statement (Humer and Krauskopf, 12/18).

CNN: Insurers Ease Deadline To Pay For Obamacare Policies 
Health insurers announced Wednesday they will give people buying coverage under Obamacare more time to make the first payment. America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry trade group, said consumers now have until Jan. 10 to make their first payment for coverage retroactive to Jan. 1. The deadline to sign up for insurance that kicks in Jan. 1 remains the same -- Dec. 23 in the vast majority of the country (Wolf, 12/18).

The Oregonian: Washington Exchange Extends Payment Deadline To Jan. 15; Cover Oregon Still Undecided
Consumers buying health insurance on Washington's exchange now have until Jan. 15 to make their first payment for coverage that starts Jan. 1, state officials said Wednesday. Nationwide, insurers said they'd give consumers buying plans on state and federal exchanges until Jan. 10 to make payments that would bind their coverage for January, the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans said today. But whether the payment deadline in Oregon will be Jan. 10 or Jan. 15 remains unclear. Cover Oregon and insurers have yet to settle on a date, a spokesman said (Hunsberger, 12/18).

McClatchy: Insurers Extend Payment Deadline For Jan. 1 Obamacare Coverage
The nation's largest health insurance industry trade group announced Wednesday that consumers, frustrated by technical problems with federal and state health insurance marketplaces, will get more time to pay for individual coverage that begins Jan. 1. The board of directors of America's Health Insurance Plans said consumers who select an individual health plan by Dec. 23 will now have until Jan. 10 to make their first month's premium payment for retroactive coverage that begins on Jan. 1, 2014. The previous payment deadline for January 1 coverage was December 31 (Pugh, 12/18).

CQ HealthBeat: Deadlines For Paying Health Premiums Will Vary As Insurers Agree To Extend Time
America's Health Insurance Plans said Wednesday that many insurers throughout the nation are willing to provide retroactive coverage to people who enroll in the new marketplaces as long as the consumers pay by Jan. 10. But insurance exchange directors in states that are running their own marketplaces often have different deadlines, and they said they would keep them, making the insurance industry announcement somewhat less sweeping and giving rise to the possibility of confusion among consumers (Adams, 12/18).