HHS tells Inside Health Policy that it handed a last-minute extension to around 500,000 consumers who waited longer than usual when contacting the federal call center Monday night, the deadline to enroll in exchange coverage through healthcare.gov in order to make it effective Jan. 1. Some state-run exchanges signaled they too would offer leeway in enrollment deadlines, and health insurers offered to extend premium payment deadlines beyond Dec. 31. The "several hundred thousand" customers granted the extension by HHS...