'Obamacare' deadline sparks surge

California has signed up more than one million people for health coverage

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed up for insurance under Barack Obama's healthcare programme, in a frantic bid to beat a key deadline.

Officials believe they have reached their target of seven million sign-ups.
Monday was the last day for most Americans to register for coverage and avoid a penalty next year.
Mr Obama's allies say the Affordable Care Act will bring healthcare to those who need it most, but Republicans say it is a massive waste of money.
The initial launch of the system last autumn was dogged by website crashes and technical problems.
But analysts say White House officials will have been delighted with the last day of enrollment.

"What I think is important, because I know there's been a lot of focus on glitches, is that there has been a remarkable story since the dark days of October and November," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

The law has proved deeply unpopular among many voters, and Republicans are expected to tap into that discontent in November's mid-term elections.
The elections will determine the shape of Congress for Mr Obama's last two years in office.

Analysis

David Willis BBC News, Washington

The Affordable Care Act is one of the most polarising pieces of US social policy in many years, and it will be a key issue at the midterm elections in November.
Republicans will seek to persuade a jaded electorate that the law is another example of dysfunctional government imposing itself on their lives. Should that message gain sufficient support - and Republicans gain control of the Senate - there is a chance the legislation may not survive in its current form.
Opinion polls continue to suggest most Americans favour some sort of healthcare reform, but delays and technical problems with the current law have handed opponents plenty of ammunition against it.

'Software bug'

Despite Mr Carney's upbeat message, the federally-run health insurance marketplace website healthcare.gov was briefly out of service for several hours twice on Monday.
Visitors were initially advised the site was down for maintenance or directed to a virtual waiting room.
Spokesman Aaron Albright blamed a "technical problem".
Meanwhile, long lines were reported at hospitals and clinics with counsellors helping people sign up for insurance in person.
At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, told the Associated Press news agency said she was waiting after previously trying to enrol at a clinic in another part of the city.
But Ms Martinez said she heard "this would be better here", and said her mother had successfully signed up on Sunday at a different location.
At a Houston community centre, immigrants from Ethiopia, Nepal, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and other countries were trying to enrol after having failed to previously, and many were waiting for interpreters to help them through the process.
The 2010 law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to extend health insurance to the roughly 48 million Americans who do not receive it through their employers, the government, or a privately purchased plan.
The law also aims to slow the growth in the cost of healthcare through various measures and requires private plans to meet a certain level of coverage.

Tax penalty ahead 

 What do Americans think of Obamacare today?

The health law has been vigorously opposed by the Republican Party and by conservatives in the private sector, who see it as an inappropriate government intrusion into the massive healthcare industry and an affront to personal liberty.
The law also remains controversial among the American public, as some people have seen their insurance costs rise or their old plans cancelled, and others object to having to purchase insurance at all.
Healthcare.gov and similar marketplace websites run by some states are a key element of the Affordable Care Act, providing a clearing-house for people to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families, often with generous subsidies.
Those who are not covered by private insurance or government programmes by the end of Monday will face a tax penalty, although the Obama administration has extended a grace period for those who can prove they have had technical issues with the site.
Total enrollment through the federal and state-run websites has jumped since the beginning of March, from 4.2 million to six million on Friday.