CommCare Premiums Waived
For Haiti Earthquake Helpers

People who get state-subsidized health care won’t have to pay their premiums this year if they can show they’re under financial pressure from helping Haiti earthquake victims. The waivers apply to people who receive health insurance through the state’s Commonwealth Care program, which provides no-cost or low-cost health insurance to people who are income-eligible.

The state is waiving the premiums to give financial relief to low-income residents who are sending money to relatives and friends affected by the earthquake in Haiti. People who travel frequently to Haiti to help out could also get their premiums waived. And if people drop their state-subsidized insurance because providing financial help to earthquake victims has left them cash-strapped, the tax penalty for not having health insurance will also be waived.

The plan was approved February 11, 2010, by the board of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, which oversees the state’s health reform efforts. Connector officials aren’t sure how many people could potentially benefit from the waiver. They have not yet decided when the waiver will go into effect and whether it will apply retroactively to the date of the Jan. 12 earthquake; those details and others still need to be hammered out.

- From “ Mass. To Waive Health Care Premiums For Haiti Earthquake Helpers”, by Sacha Pfeiffer, WBUR, http://www.wbur.org/2010/02/11/haiti-2, published February 11, 2010,   Updated February 12, Retrieved 2/16/10.

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