From Families USA April, 2013

Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will extend health coverage to millions of Americans. This will be done, in part, by offering tax credits to help low- and middle-income Americans afford private coverage. These new tax credits, ... will offset a portion of the cost of health insurance premiums....

This report takes a closer look at these premium tax credits in Hawaii, which will help residents of Hawaii with incomes up to four times the federal poverty level ($108,360 for a family of four in 2013) afford coverage. The unique structure of the tax credits means that people will be protected from having to spend more than a set percentage of their income on health insurance premiums. These premium tax credits will take effect in January 2014, following open enrollment that begins in October 2013.

Families USA commissioned The Lewin Group to use its widely respected Health Benefits Simulation Model to estimate how many people in Hawaii and across the country could benefit from the new premium tax credits in 2014. We found that more than 71,000 Hawaii residents will be eligible for the tax credits in 2014.

Most of the people who will be eligible for the tax credits will be in working families and will have incomes between two and four times poverty (between $54,180 and $108,360 for a family of four based on 2013 poverty guidelines). However, because the size of the tax credits will be determined on a sliding scale based on income, those with the lowest incomes will receive the largest tax credits....

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