Health insurance exchange open enrollment number two is in the books, sort of! The official end to this year’s open enrollment period was on Sunday; however, as we alluded to last week, Healthcare.gov and other state-based marketplaces pushed back that deadline to accommodate the anticipated spike in late traffic to the websites and any potential technical glitches. As it turned out, fewer than 150,000 were still “in line” in the federal exchange marketplace when the open enrollment ended at midnight and despite a minor income-verification issue, the website functioned mostly glitch-free. Those consumers who were still “in line” will be allowed to continue their applications through Sunday, February 22, with coverage effective on March 1. Various state exchanges have set their own, and often slightly differing final deadlines.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced on Tuesday that total exchange enrollment topped 11.4 million enrollees, a figure that includes both the 8.6 million who are enrolled federally and 2.8 million in state-based exchanges. The Administration’s initial goal was 9.1 million enrolled in the federal marketplace and 11.2 million overall. Last year at this time, just over 8 million consumers had enrolled in coverage, with effectuated enrollments—those who were continuing to pay their premiums—dropping to 6.7 million by August. Florida led among all states with 1.6 million enrollees, while California led among state-based marketplaces with 1.4 million, including just under half a million new enrollees. Enroll America claims to have contacted more than 6 million Americans this period, about half of them by email and over 57,000 using the Get Covered Connector to schedule local appointments, a feature in which some NAHU chapters participate.

All of this isn’t to say that open enrollment year two is over. The first tax season for health reform is under way and as many people wait until the last minute to file their returns, many of them will find out that they owe Uncle Sam a penalty to the tune of $95 or 1% of their household income. With this consideration, federal officials announced today that they have decided to offer a special enrollment period (SEP) for individuals facing penalties on their 2014 taxes who want to avoid the double penalty on their 2015 taxes by enrolling in coverage for this year. The federal SEP will last from March 15 through April 30. Minnesota and Washington State have already announced plans for a tax-season SEP, with Minnesota’s running from March 1 to April 30 and Washington State through April 17. California, Kentucky and New York are also considering SEPs to deal with tax filers facing penalties.