HealthCare.gov bulks up staffing to meet deadline

The Obama administration has hired 40 percent more people to help with healthcare sign-ups in the final week ahead of the 2015 deadline for enrolling in health insurance through ObamaCare.

A total of 14,000 people are running call centers across the country starting Monday, when prospective enrollees will have less than a week to meet the Feb. 15 deadline.

{mosads}Officials in charge of HealthCare.gov said they have been planning for a last-minute swell of sign-ups, warning that the wait times for call centers have continued to increase as the clock winds down.

“Consumers need to treat Feb. 15 as their last chance to get coverage for the year,” said Andy Slavitt, the acting administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Kevin Counihan, the CEO of HealthCare.gov, also warned of a “big, big surge” but said the administration is prepared.

“Our system is stable. We’ve got call center support,” he said. “That being said, we think it’s in everyone’s interest, particularly the  consumer’s interest, that they don’t do things that I do, which is to wait until the last minute. Actually get in early, shop and compare.”