Golden Renews Bipartisan Effort to Protect Health Coverage Tax Credit for Retirees, Including Dozens of Former Madawaska Mill Workers

Statement

Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) announced today the reintroduction of the bipartisan Health Coverage Tax Credit Reauthorization Act, which would extend the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) through 2025. The HCTC helps dozens of Maine retirees, including retired millworkers from Twin Rivers Paper in Madawaska, afford health insurance. Golden secured one-year extensions of the HCTC for 2020 and 2021, but the credit lapsed at the end of 2021 as congressional leaders' negotiations over omnibus appropriations and tax legislation stalled.

"For years, dozens of Madawaska retirees have relied on the Health Coverage Tax Credit to afford health insurance. But each year, we have to fight to reauthorize the credit, creating uncertainty and unfair burdens for retirees in Maine and across the country. The credit is currently lapsed, and that's the last thing people need in a pandemic," said Golden. "It's time to end this cycle of short-term patches and pass a multiyear extension of the HCTC."

Source