For some Obamacare shoppers, a brief grace period on premiums

By Caroline Humer and Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – As a deadline approaches for people to sign up for medical insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare law, some insurers and state-run online marketplaces are giving shoppers an extra week to pay their first premiums. The Obama administration could face a new crisis over the healthcare law should a significant number of consumers discover that their preferred insurer does not have a record of their new policy. Aetna Inc, which is selling health insurance on exchanges, or marketplaces, in more than a dozen states, will allow consumers to pay premiums as late as January 8. The Connecticut exchange, Access Health CT, said some shoppers can pay as late as January 7.