Information fair helps trade-affected workers learn about health insurance aid

An information fair on a health care tax credit for Minnesota workers dislocated by international trade shifts will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 30, at the St. Paul Armory, 600 Cedar Street, St. Paul.

The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) is a federal tax credit that pays 65 percent of the qualified health plan premiums paid by eligible individuals. Those who may be eligible for HCTC include workers who lost their jobs due to foreign competition and are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits, and retirees receiving payments from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. President George Bush signed the HCTC program into law last year as part of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act. The HCTC will be effective in Minnesota in August.

?Helping Minnesotans who have lost their jobs–and on top of that their health insurance–is an important goal for this administration,? said Matt Kramer, commissioner of the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. ?This federal tax credit is another means of helping citizens at a time of real need.?

For more information on the Health Coverage Tax Credit, call the HCTC customer contact center tollfree at 1-866-628-4282; TDD/TTY 1-866-626-4282. Calls are taken 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., central time, Monday through Friday. The HCTC is under the jurisdiction of the Internal Revenue Service. For more information, see the HCTC website at: www.irs.gov and enter IRS Keyword: HCTC.

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