Jul 1 2011
Modern Healthcare/Crain's Business Insurance: White House Backs Health Premium Subsidy
The Obama administration is backing a temporary boost in federal subsidies of health insurance premiums, such as COBRA coverage, for workers who lose their jobs due to foreign competition and older retirees in failed pension plans. A 2002 law created the subsidy, the Health Coverage Tax Credit, and set a federal tax credit of 65 percent. In 2009, the economic stimulus law raised the credit to 80 percent through Dec. 31, 2010. Last year, Congress approved a temporary extension through Feb. 13. However, the subsidy reverted to 65 percent after lawmakers in February could not agree on another extension (6/29).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente. |