Survey: Health Care Tax Credits Will Reach More Than 1 Million Illinoisans in 2014

A health advocacy group says benefits from the new health care reform law are just starting to come to Illinois residents.

It will be 2014 before one of the biggest benefits takes effect, but the group Families USA says more than a million people in Illinois will be eligible for some sort of tax credit from the legislation that passed this spring. Those tax credits are meant to offset the cost of insurance.

The slow introduction of the health care law coincides with political opposition to the law as election season nears. But Jim Duffett, who heads the Champaign-based Campaign for Better Health Care, says more and more Illinois residents will hear about the program's intended purpose in the weeks ahead, such as health insurance exchange programs aimed at offering lower-cost policies.

"I think as these programs start to kick in, and definitely as the focus at the state level is intensifying, those types of activities are going to start to generate much more interest and education so that the people in Illinois will be able to know exactly what they need to do to sign up," Duffett said.

The group cites a survey that suggests the biggest tax credits will affect people at the lowest income levels, with about 60% of the credits going to those who carry health insurance but are struggling to keep up with premiums.