‘Obamacare’ website stalls briefly ahead of enrollment deadline

The Obama administration's health care website stumbled on Monday, just hours before the deadline for the first wave of enrollment under the health care law, also known as “Obamacare.”

Visitors to HealthCare.gov saw messages that the site was down for maintenance. At times, the visitors were also directed to a virtual waiting room — a feature designed to ease strain on the site during periods of heavy use.

However, the Obama administration said on Monday afternoon that it has resolved the glitch affecting the website.

Americans have until midnight on Monday to obtain health insurance through market exchanges established by the law or else face fines. But the administration has softened the deadline to accommodate those who attempt to apply for coverage before it’s too late.

Administration spokesman Aaron Albright said the website undergoes "regular nightly maintenance" during off-peak hours and that period was extended because of a "technical problem." He did not say what the problem was, but a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services called it "a software bug" unrelated to application volume.

Albright said consumers seeking to sign up will be able to leave their email and "be invited back when the system is available." Consumers can also call 1-800-318-2596 to complete the application process.

Officials said the website wasn't hacked. The site, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, received about 2 million a day over the weekend.

Albright said the website is typically down for maintenance during the period from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. EDT, and that as a result of the technical problems the site was down for close to four additional hours on Monday morning.

The website had been taken down briefly Friday, with consumer interest surging.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency charged with overseeing the website, said that it had "handled record consumer demand well." 

Wire services