HealthCare.gov will again be taken offline for maintenance for a maximum of 60 hours during the upcoming open enrollment for Affordable Care Act exchange coverage, the CMS announced Tuesday.
Consumers may not be able to select a plan from the federally operated marketplace each Sunday between 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. ET, except on Dec. 9, the final Sunday of open enrollment. The CMS said the scheduled downtime, which is the same as last year's, is during periods when HealthCare.gov sees the lowest traffic.
While the CMS alloted 60 hours total for maintenance, it said the 2018 open enrollment's actual downtime totaled 21.5 hours. Last year, some observers criticized the Trump administration for what they considered excessive maintenance periods meant to undermine the healthcare exchanges. Open enrollment for 2019 coverage kicks off Nov. 1 and lasts until Dec. 15 in most states.
