Miss Covered California deadline? No worries, it's now extended until April

The window for many Californians to sign up for health coverage widened Friday when the state exchange said it would extend this month’s deadline to enroll in a plan until the end of April.

Covered California said it was making the change to accommodate taxpayers who are just now realizing that they’ll be charged penalties on their tax returns if they don’t have health insurance. This is the first year such penalties kick in under the federal health care law.

It’s too late for many uninsured people to avoid penalties for the 2014 tax year, but they still have time to head off much larger fines for 2015.

“We’re giving them an extended window,” said Covered California spokesman James Scullary. “We know this is all new for everybody.”

As of this week, about 474,000 uninsured Californians had signed up for health insurance for 2015. Covered California had set a goal of enrolling half a million new subscribers this year.

The original deadline to enroll through Covered California was Feb. 15, but that was extended to Sunday for those who had already started the process. Friday’s announcement gave those who say they didn’t know about the tax penalty more than two more months to apply.

“To attest to this fact, they can select ‘Informed of Tax Penalty Risk’ when filling out an application at CoveredCA.com,” a news release from Covered California said. The website features a search function for local counselors and insurance agents who can help people enroll face to face.

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