(Augusta) Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC) today co-released a new report written by Families USA stating that more than 125,000 Mainers will be eligible to participate in middle class tax cuts that will help pay for the cost of private health insurance beginning in 2014, with roughly 94% (104,000 of the 125,000) of those eligible being classified as working families.  Another 13,000 will be in households where at least one person works part-time.

"Many ground-breaking consumer protections and insurance industry regulations in the Affordable Care Act went into effect last month, but the best for health care reform is yet to come.  We look forward to building on the success Maine has already achieved in providing health coverage to hard working families," said Andrea Irwin,Policy Advocate for CAHC.  "These credits, available to those who purchase insurance in the new Health Insurance Exchange, will provide significant relief to Mainers who are struggling.  It is also important to note that small businesses of certain sizes and wage levels are eligible for tax credits this year to help pay for their employees' health insurance premiums. The employees of many of those businesses with certain household income levels will qualify for subsidies under the recently re-opened DirigoChoice coverage." 

There are about 53,200 uninsured Mainers who will be eligible for the tax credits, and another 72,100 eligible people who are currently insured but are still struggling to afford coverage.

"This is the largest middle-income tax cut in history, and it will enable many hard-working Mainers to afford health insurance premiums that have stretched family budgets," said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA.  "The tax cut will not only put significant extra cash in Mainers' pocketbooks, but it will also ease the burden of families' growing health care costs."

Titled "Lower Taxes, Lower Premiums: The New Health Insurance Tax Credit in Maine," the report highlights:

• By income level, how many Mainers will be eligible for the new tax credit;

• The total value of tax credits for eligible people in Maine in 2014;

• The number of Mainers eligible for the tax credit who are in working families;

• The number of insured Mainers who are struggling with health coverage costs and who will receive assistance through the new tax credits; and

• The number of Mainers who are currently uninsured and will be able to afford coverage due to the new tax credits.

You can view the report from Maine by clicking on the following link: