High Number of Georgians Eligible for Health Insurance Tax Credit

KFF.org

A new report estimates more than 17-million Americans are eligible for tax credits to help pay for health insurance.  The Kaiser Family Foundation study estimates that includes 654,000 Georgians.

That’s more than half of the 1-million Georgians who potentially will buy coverage on the health exchange.

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Georgia is one of only six states with a potential pool that large.

To be eligible for a credit, a person generally cannot have employee-sponsored health insurance, be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid, and must have an income between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

The health care law requires every American have health insurance or pay a penalty. 

As far as how many Georgians have signed up for coverage through the new exchange… the federal government plans to release the data next week.

Expanded health policy reporting on 90.1 comes through a partnership between WABE, NPR and Kaiser Health News.