Most of SoCal's Covered California insurers extend payment deadlines again

Five of the six insurers offering health plans to southern Californians through Covered California have granted yet another reprieve for their customers who have not yet paid their first premiums for policies that took effect Jan. 1st.

A paperwork bottleneck at the insurance companies had led state officials to give consumers until Wednesday of this week to pay for policies that took effect on New Year's Day. But that extension didn't quite do the trick, so five of the six insurers offering Covered California plans in southern California are again offering a bit more time to pay.

Blue Shield was the only firm that did not grant an additional extension. 

People who have not yet enrolled in a plan have until March 31st to sign up or face a tax penalty. 

Here are the new payment deadlines for Jan. 1st policies:

Kaiser Permanente: January 22nd

L.A. Care Health Plan: January 28th

Anthem Blue Cross: January 31st

Health Net: January 31st

Molina Healthcare: January 31st