Turner’s bipartisan Health Coverage Tax Credit bill becomes law

Bipartisan legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) to extend the federal Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) became law as part of a larger fiscal year 2020 appropriations package.

Rep. Turner in March 2019 sponsored the Health Coverage Tax Credit Reauthorization Act of 2019, H.R. 1939, with lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the HCTC, which pays a large portion of qualified health insurance premiums for individuals and families. The HCTC was set to expire at the end of 2019.

Rep. Turner’s H.R. 1939 was included in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2020, H.R. 1865, a year-end appropriations bill signed into law on Dec. 20, 2019 by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Specifically, the HCTC helps subsidize the cost of continued coverage for retirees and other individuals who lost their health care coverage — in addition to their pensions and other benefits — when their employers either entered into bankruptcy or laid off workers due to foreign trade, including 5,000 salaried retirees in Delphi, Ohio.

Rep. Turner’s bill originally sought to extend the HCTC for five years, but the newly enacted spending bill provides a short-term extension through Dec. 31, 2020.

“I am continuing to work with the Trump administration towards additional remedies for the Delphi salaried retirees,” Rep. Turner said last month. “This reauthorization of a key tax credit that makes healthcare more affordable for these retirees is a strong step forward, and I will continue to advocate for a long term reauthorization of this credit.”