More than 575,000 in Tennessee eligible for health exchanges, report says

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

NASHVILLE - More than 575,000 Tennesseans will be eligible for premium tax credits to participate in the federal health exchange projected to crank up next January, according to a Washington-based health consumer advocacy group.

Nearly 30,000 of them are from Hamilton County, according to Families USA.

The report is a first-of-its kind public look at the impacts of a key provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. That's access to health insurance through the exchange, an online marketplace in which consumers who don't have health insurance can find competing private plans if they have incomes of up to 400 percent.

Tax credits will be determined on a sliding scale based on income. Those with the lowest incomes will receive the largest tax credits. The credits flow directly to the health plan a consumer chooses, helping them offset the total cost of a plan's premiums.

The report is titled "Help Is at Hand: New Health Insurance Tax Credits in Tennessee."

For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.