Gov. Roy Cooper is asking the federal government to extend the enrollment period for Affordable Care Act insurance.

North Carolina is among 39 states served by the federal HealthCare.gov website, and the deadline for signups on the site is Friday. Most states that run their own health insurance websites have later deadlines.

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In a letter this week to Eric Hargan, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Cooper said a one-week extension, until Dec. 22, would benefit people around the country. North Carolina has the third-highest enrollment on the federal marketplace, he said, but he fears enrollment could be hurt by a shorter signup period this year.

Since 2018 enrollments started on Nov. 1, 271,301 people in North Carolina have selected a plan on HealthCare.gov. Last year, 549,148 people signed up statewide, but that enrollment period lasted until late January.

Cooper and state DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen held a news conference Wednesday morning at a medical clinic in Raleigh to urge people to sign up for ACA coverage before Friday's deadline. They said they are concerned that people may not realize the enrollment period is much shorter this year than last year, and he has no indication that the Trump Administration will give the state more time for enrollments.

"Clearly, we need a response today or tomorrow that they’re going to extend," Cooper said. "I know a number of other governors across the country, I’m not sure how many, but a number of other governors have called for an extension of time. So, we will see; we will see what they do. We know that people are still signing up.

"This administration has not been very favorable toward the Affordable Care Act – shutting down the website on Sundays, cutting the time in half, trying to eliminate it," the governor continued. "One misconception that's out there with some people is that the Affordable Care Act has been repealed. It has not been. It is alive and well. People are still getting signed up, people are still getting federal subsidies for their insurance."

ACA advocates say most people can find coverage through the marketplace for about $75 a month. About four out of five people who have ACA plans get some financial assistance to help pay for them.

Rowell Gormon of Garner said the ACA allowed his wife and son to get decent coverage for $200 a month that otherwise would have cost $1,500 a month.

"That’s twice our house payment, and that would be impossible for us," Gormon said.