The White House reaffirmed a key deadline in the health reform law Wednesday, saying people have until March 31 to sign up for health insurance even if the coverage doesn’t kick in till later.

The Obama administration is being pushed to soften some of the law’s requirements, including the so-called individual mandate – the requirement that just about everyone have some sort of health insurance starting next year.

Separately, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was already drafting a bill earlier Wednesday to delay the mandate for a year, his spokesman said. And Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, on Wednesday called for an extension of the open enrollment period to allow people more time to purchase coverage; Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas said he supported Shaheen’s “common sense idea” in a statement.

But the White House said late Wednesday it was standing firm on one of the dates – the deadline for open enrollment on the health insurance marketplaces, one of the main pillars of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

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