More than 200,000 sign up for health insurance in Washington, state says

SEATTLE (AP) — More than 200,000 people signed up for health insurance in Washington state during the open enrollment period that ended Sunday.


State officials say people who couldn't sign up because of computer problems on Saturday should contact Washington Healthplanfinder because they may be given extra time to finish their applications.

Exchange spokesman Michael Marchand says people in this situation should call the customer support line (855-923-4633) as soon as possible.

As the open enrollment period ended on Sunday, about 300 people an hour were signing up for insurance. Marchand says they expect some people who tried to sign up over the weekend were hampered by the shutdown of the Department of Social and Health Services eligibility system.

The health exchange was down for most of Saturday because of that problem.