Maryland extends ObamaCare enrollment deadline

Maryland is extending the deadline by one week for people to enroll in ObamaCare through its state exchange.

The new deadline is Dec. 22. The previous deadline would have been Friday, the same date for states that use the healthcare.gov federal exchange.

“While enrollments have been very strong so far this year, we want to ensure that everyone in Maryland in need of 2018 health coverage has additional time to shop and enroll,” Howard Haft, interim executive director for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, said in a statement.

{mosads}Maryland is one of 12 states that operates its own exchange, which gives it the flexibility to extend open enrollment beyond the federal deadline.

The Trump administration cut the federal open enrollment period to 45 days this year, half as long as it was under the Obama administration.

To date, eight states and the District of Columbia have chosen to extend their deadlines.