Hope - and hassle - if you missed March 31…

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If you were one of those left cooling your heels -- or steaming -- on the glitch-ridden and overloaded Healthcare.gov Monday night, federal officials say worry not. A good faith effort is all you need to show to get back on the site to enroll today.

Oh, so that's all?

What if you can't even prove you were trying? That's a challenge faced by many who either couldn't set up an account or even get onto the federal site to try Monday.

The Department of Health and Human Services' tweeted last night at 11:16 that Healthcare.gov "transitions overnight & opens early am so people trying to sign up can finish." The department sent guidance to insurance agents last night explaining that if a consumer was "in line and has tried to enroll" for 2014 through the website, the federal call center, or a state Medicaid or CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) agency by midnight, "we will help make sure they can complete the application process in order to get covered."

The guidance goes on to say (with dramatic understatement, agents argue), "Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you may run into delays caused by heavy traffic to HealthCare.gov or our Call Center, maintenance periods, or another issue that prevents you from helping consumers finish the process on time."

If you were trying:

Log in to your online Marketplace application on HealthCare.gov and finish the enrollment process – you'll need to confirm online that you were still trying to enroll on March 31, says HHS. Or you can contact the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596. The call center can help you complete your enrollment over the phone. TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325. Be sure to tell the customer service representative that you've been trying to enroll.HHS urged agents to "keep trying," which would apply to anyone still hoping to have insurance for 2014. Agent Angie Surra of St. Marys, Pa., ! took screen shots of the site messages when she couldn't get her clients signed up Monday. Those who didn't think ahead that far may still be able to prove they tried. HHS suggests keeping records of the errors experienced and contacting the call center.

If you never got around to trying:

You can still buy insurance through any insurance agent that takes effect almost immediately, but you won't be eligible for the tax credits or subsidies available through the exchanges.If you want to buy an exchange plan, you have to wait until the next open enrollment in November to buy a plan that takes effect Jan. 1. You'll owe a penalty at tax time next year. Baton Rouge, La. agent Nikki McLaughlin reminds that those who fail to enroll for 2014 are facing a penalty $95 or 1% of their annual income, which could be a far higher amount. Enough, in fact, for some to jot down just what happened yesterday when they tried to log in and/or set up an account.