Thousands of uninsured individuals in California and the state of Washington have tapped a special enrollment period to enroll in health care plans offered through the two states’ health insurance exchanges.

In the state of Washington, more than 16,000 residents opted for coverage during the special enrollment period that ran from Feb. 17 to April 17. That special enrollment period was available to Washingtonians who did not enroll during the regular open enrollment period, which closed Feb. 15 and would owe a fee for not enrolling in a plan in 2014 or were unable to complete their applications for coverage in the 2015 open enrollment period due to technical issues by the Feb. 15 deadline.

“We’re pleased that more than 16,000 Washingtonians took advantage of this unique opportunity to get enrolled,” Richard Onizuka, CEO for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange in Olympia, said in a statement Wednesday.

In addition, California, which has the largest state-established exchange with about 1.4 million enrollees, says that more than 22,000 individuals enrolled through April 12 in a special enrollment period after they became aware of the health care reform law tax penalty that is imposed for those not enrolled in a health care plans.

Earlier, federal regulators disclosed that more than 68,000 individuals have taken advantage — as of April 13, of the special enrollment period to enroll in health care plans offered through the federal health insurance exchange.

Like Washington and California, the special enrollment period for the federal exchange, which runs from March 15 through April 30, was made available to those who did not enroll during the regular enrollment period, which closed at the end of February and would owe a fee for not enrolling in a plan in 2014.

The fee, set by the Affordable Care Act, for not opting for coverage in 2014 was $95 per person, or 1% of household income, whichever is greater. The fee in 2015 is $325 per person, or 2% of household income, whichever is greater.