Due to “unprecedented demand,” the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) extended the December deadline of HealthCare.gov.

People had until Dec. 15 to renew or enroll into HealthCare.gov if they wanted their health insurance to start on Jan. 1, 2016. In a statement from HHS' Health Insurance Marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan on Tuesday, a decision was made to extend the Dec. 15 deadline to Dec. 17 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Counihan cited "unprecedented demand and volume" caused by consumers contacting its call center or visiting the HealthCare.gov website.

"Hundreds of thousands have already selected plans over the last two days and approximately 1 million consumers have left their contact information to hold their place in line," said Counihan, referring to Dec. 13 and Dec. 14 dates. He added "Our goal is to provide access to affordable coverage," and the extended hours should give consumers sufficient time to complete enrollment.

On Tuesday morning, according to Lori Lodes, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) communications director, the Dec. 15 was still the goal until HealthCare.gov encountered increasing demand. In a statement provided before Counihan's announcement, Lodes also acknowledged there were some log-in delays due to heavy website traffic. She revealed more than 185,000 consumers simultaneously visited the healthcare website and almost a million calls were received on Monday, which set a three-year record for a non-deadline day.

Annette Raveneau, spokesperson for Get Covered America, a nonprofit campaign focused on promoting affordable health insurance, told Latin Post that the increased demand and subsequent deadline extension is positive news.

"This is great news, especially during this third open enrollment period as it indicates that consumers are eager to start 2016 with the peace of mind that having a quality, affordable health insurance plan offers," said Raveneau. "Get Covered America and our partners want Latinos to know that they have until December 17 at 11:59 p.m. PST to sign-up if they want their coverage to start on January 1."

Raveneau noted that some states have different deadlines; these states have their own marketplace exchange. California and Washington, D.C. also have Dec. 17 deadlines, while Maryland's deadline is Dec. 18, and Dec. 19 for New York.

Although there is a December deadline, the final deadline for the 2016 open enrollment period is Jan. 31, 2016.

As Latin Post reported, the third open-enrollment period, which began on Nov. 1, could be the most challenging year for the HHS. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said the current enrollment period will focus on an uninsured population that "is hard to reach." According to Burwell, 17.6 million Americans have gain health insurance since the Affordable Care Act's implementation in 2010, but 10.5 million more people are still uninsured.

HealthCare.gov serves as the health insurance marketplace for 37 states that have yet to adopt state-level exchanges.

The 37 states that use the federal marketplace are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The penalties for not having a health plan for 2016 will increase. HHS said uninsured individuals "may be more inclined to enroll in coverage" due to the tax penalty, which will be either the individual's 2.5 percent yearly income or $695 -- whichever is the larger amount for the uninsured. The fine is $347.50 per child under 18 years old.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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