WPRO News and the Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Healthsource RI is offering a special enrollment period for eligible individuals and families to get coverage in order to avoid paying a tax penalty this year.

The state’s health connector announced Tuesday that those who did not have health coverage last year could enroll from March 15 through April 30 to get covered for the rest of 2015.

The connector says people who sign up during this period will not have to pay a tax penalty when they file their taxes this year. Otherwise, residents who did not have coverage in 2014 must pay a fee of $95 per adult or one percent of their income when they file their taxes.

The connector says customers who pay the first month’s premium by March 23 will have coverage effective April 1.