HealthCare.gov was down early Monday, hours before the midnight deadline to sign up for insurance through ObamaCare exchanges.
“The system isn’t available at the moment,” a message on a number of Web pages read Monday morning. “We’re currently performing maintenance. Please try again later.”
The main Web page appeared to be working properly, but users found an error page if they clicked on the tab to begin the process to sign up for health insurance.
An Obama administration official told The Hill that the site’s tech team extended the window for maintenance normally performed at night. The site was being brought back online around 8 a.m. EDT.
“Consumers were able to leave their email and will be invited back,” the official said.
{mosads}That message was a familiar sight to people who tried to sign up on the federal ObamaCare portal last fall, when it was plagued with technical glitches. The Obama administration made it a priority to improve the website in the months after.
People without insurance have until midnight EDT on Monday to sign up for ObamaCare.
Last week, the administration announced it would allow an extension for people who check a special enrollment box by March 31. Officials did not indicate when those people would have to finish the process.
Those who lack health insurance and fail to enroll by the deadline will face a tax penalty.
According to the administration, 2 million people visited HealthCare.gov this past weekend. Last week, officials announced 6 million people have enrolled in the insurance.
— Justin Sink contributed to this report, which was updated at 8:08 a.m.