ObamaCare call center giving callbacks due to high demand

by Peter Sullivan - 12/14/17 5:05 PM ET

The ObamaCare call center is now asking some callers to leave their contact information and get a call back because of the heavy volume of inquiries it is receiving ahead of Friday’s deadline.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency which oversees the health-care law, said that everyone who left their information would be able to enroll.

The agency is not saying, though, whether there will be a grace period extension for people applying online. Under the Obama administration, people who were “in line” on the website were able to enroll even after the deadline passed.

The Trump administration is under scrutiny for all aspects of how it handles ObamaCare, given Democratic accusations it is “sabotaging” the law.

{mosads}The callbacks from the call center fit with a practice under the Obama administration. But the Trump administration is keeping its cards close to its vest on whether it will allow an extension for people who are waiting in line on the website at the deadline.

“Like in previous years, we have seen an uptick in the volume of consumers on HealthCare.gov and contacting our call center,” a CMS spokesperson said. “As a result, some callers are being asked to leave their contact information so they do not have to wait. We will call them back to assist them.”

Asked about people applying online being given an extension, the spokesperson said only: “We continue to encourage people to make plan selections by that deadline so that their coverage can begin on January 1.”

Some Democrats have called for the enrollment deadline to be extended all the way to Jan. 31, but the administration appears unlikely to do that.

Experts expect less ObamaCare enrollment this year, in part due to a shorter enrollment period and cuts to outreach compared to previous years.

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