Those doing some last-minute shopping for health insurance now have one more day.

The federal government has added a 24-hour grace period for people signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act to ensure coverage on January 1, 2014. The deadline is now midnight, Dec. 24th.

Brigid Scarbrough, a licensed healthcare navigator with The Health Initiative, an Atlanta non-profit, says people should not delay getting online to sign up because of the grace period.

“It’s very similar to you know, on Election Day when you are in line when the polls close, you still get to vote," explained Scarbrough. "So if you’re,you know, online in the system there, then they’re going to be able to take those enrollments, but again, it’s not you waiting to get in line until after the polls close.”

People who want to sign up for coverage will still have time once the Dec. 24 deadline passes. Consumers can sign up for health insurance on the marketplace through March 31st, however coverage will begin the next month after enrollment.

Contributors: Associated Press

Tags: healthcare, health insurance, affordable healthcare act