White House defends extension of Obamacare deadline

The White House on Wednesday defended extending some enrollments for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act past a March 31 deadline, saying doing so was comparable to allowing voters who are in line when polls close to cast their ballots. The administration late on Tuesday granted an extension until mid-April to people who say they have started to apply for coverage through the HealthCare.gov website but are unable to complete the process before the deadline. “We expect there to be increasing numbers as the deadline approaches,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. The administration expects criticism of the extension “by those who want to deny Americans quality, affordable health insurance, and want to put insurance companies back in control,” he told reporters traveling with the president to Europe.