Almost 26 million Americans will be eligible for premium tax credits on a sliding scale based on income to purchase coverage through public exchanges in 2014, according to a new report by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Families USA. Ron Pollack, the national health consumer group’s executive director, describes the subsidies as “a game changer.”
Kathleen Stoll, a co-author of the report as well as deputy executive director and director of health policy at Families USA, believes small businesses now will be better positioned to offer coverage to their workers under the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).
“They will have an ability to go into the SHOP exchange and lower their administrative burden,” she says. “We hope it will leverage better prices for small businesses because they will be like a large employer by accessing a larger pool of covered bodies.”
Stoll also cites a tax credit available to the smallest employers with fairly low-wage workers in 2014 that goes up to a maximum of 50% of what they spend on premiums. “If you’re a small law firm, you’re not suddenly going send your employees to an exchange,” she explains. “They won’t be eligible for premium tax credits, but if you’re a low-wage, small mom-and-pop shop that doesn’t have the margins to afford to offer coverage, you may find that this is actually going to provide a solution to your workers.”
The Families USA research, entitled “Help Is at Hand: New Health Insurance Tax Credits for Americans,” includes both national and state-specific data, as well as an analysis of demographic factors such as income, age, employment status, ethnicity and geography. Families USA commissioned the Lewin Group to estimate the number of Americans who could benefit from the tax credits.
Researchers found that more than half of those who will be eligible for subsidies are expected to have annual incomes ranging from $47,100 to $94,200 for a family of four, or 200% to 400% of the federal poverty level.
Other key findings show that most individuals who are expected to receive government assistance come from working families (88%) and ages 18 to 34 (36%). They also will be largely white, (about 58%), followed by Hispanic (about 23%), black (about 11%) and other races that include American Indian, Aleut or Eskimo, Asian or Pacific Islander, or a member of more than one group (about 8%).
In terms of the regional makeup, the research estimates that among those who will be eligible for the subsidies:
- Nearly 2.6 million are Texas residents, with about 53% of involving low- and middle-income families.
- More than 1.7 million are Florida residents, with about 56% involving low- and middle-income families.
- More than 745,000 are Michigan residents, with about 56% % involving low- and middle-income families.
- More than 142,000 are West Virginia residents, with about 55% involving low- and middle-income families.
Shutan is a Los Angeles freelance writer.
From the article..
ReplyDeleteNearly 2.6 million are Texas residents, with about 53% of involving low- and middle-income families.
"Tom Banning, chief executive officer of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, told NPR that failing to expand Medicaid will only shift costs throughout the health care system.
"These people don't choose to get sick. When they do, they're going to access our health care system at the most inefficient and expensive point, which is the emergency room," Banning says. "And it's going to cost the taxpayers, and it's going to cost employers a lot of money to care for them. And we're going to be forgoing billions of dollars that the feds have set aside for the state to pay for and provide this care."
As a result of the state's decision, Texas will continue paying for the taxes that pay for Medicaid expansion but wil be sending those dollars (and benefits) to other states."
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/313-17/17653-texas-will-deny-health-coverage-to-15-million-low-income-residents
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Rick Perry is a stubborn bone-head. There are more poor people in need of Obamacare in Texas than any other state in the country. His decision will cost Texas taxpayers billions in lost revenue and surely cost many of the poor people whom he is denying health care their health and their lives. It is disgraceful and immoral.
--David