When Is Obamacare Ending? Open Enrollment Deadline Period Approaching But It's Not Too Late To Sign Up

Americans hoping to get health coverage before Obamacare is repealed can still enroll in or make changes to their 2017 health plans until Jan. 31, according to HealthCare.gov.

Republicans are reportedly working to submit a partial repeal similar to a bill that was passed and then vetoed by President Barack Obama in 2015, which the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday could result to roughly 32 million people being without healthcare coverage. However, even if the partial repeal is approved a second time, the report said it would take up to 10 years for people covered by Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fully lose the insurance covered by their plan.

President-elect Donald Trump’s top pick to oversee the healthcare department, Rep. Tom Price, R-Georgia, said during his concession hearing Wednesday that he wasn’t “interested in pulling the rug out from anybody,” and that it is “absolutely imperative that individuals who have coverage should be able to keep coverage.”

However, people in need of coverage or those who already enrolled in 2017 health plans but may need to make changes only have a limited amount of time to take advantage of Obamacare. After Jan. 31, participants may only be able to receive new coverage or make changes to their market plan if they qualify for special enrollment period conditions, if at all. Only people suffering from certain life events including loss of health insurance, relocating, marriage, having a baby or adopting a child qualify for the special enrollment period, which is only allotted within 60 days of a life event.

Americans can still apply for Obamacare until the deadline through HealthCare.gov’s enrollment process, which accepts online applications, phone application, mail applications and in-person assistance through certified organizations located around the country. Applying for the Affordable Care Act is mostly a straightforward process.