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The Obama administration said it would allow people to sign up for plans on HealthCare.gov through April to avoid tax penalties for going uncovered in 2015. The extension, which adds more than two months to the enrollment period for health coverage this year, was announced by Health and Human Services officials on Friday. People who pay penalties for going uncovered in 2014 and are still uninsured will be allowed to visit HealthCare.gov until the end of April, said Andy Slavitt, principal deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the HHS unit overseeing implementation of the law. (Radnofsky, 2/20)

The Obama administration said Friday it will allow a special health law enrollment period from March 15 to April 30 for consumers who realize while filling out their taxes that they owe a fee for not signing up for coverage last year. The special enrollment period applies to people in the 37 states covered by the federal marketplace, though some state-run exchanges are also expected to follow suit. (Galewitz, 2/20)

Almost half of uninsured adults are unaware that there is a financial penalty for lacking health insurance, according to a study released Thursday by the Urban Institute. The study, using data from December, found that roughly 25 percent of uninsured people above the poverty line had heard "nothing at all" about the penalty, and around 20 percent had heard "only a little." Fifty-three percent had heard some or a lot. (Sullivan, 2/19)

A “teachable moment” is one way to describe the consternation that many uninsured people may feel when they file their taxes this spring and realize they owe a penalty for not having health insurance. According to a new survey, the number of people who may need to be schooled is substantial: Forty-four percent of uninsured people who may be subject to the penalty say they know nothing or only a little about the penalty they may face. (Andrews, 2/20)