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JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) and the state of Florida have begun offering health care coverage to qualified individuals under a new federal program called the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) program. The program was created by Congress to provide health care coverage to certain displaced trade workers.

The HCTC program is open to individuals who are eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance and those who qualify for benefits from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The federal government determines eligibility for the program. An estimated 13,000 individuals in Florida are eligible. About 260,000 are eligible nationwide.

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BCBSF is the exclusive company providing health care coverage through the HCTC for eligible individuals in Florida who do not already have qualified coverage. "With more than 2.8 million individuals in Florida without health insurance, BCBSF is taking a proactive role in reducing the number of uninsured," said Randy Kammer, vice president, Regulatory Affairs & Public Policy. "By participating in this government-private industry partnership, we hope to position our company for future health insurance tax subsidy programs that will result in lowering the number of uninsured individuals."

The credit is equal to 65 percent of the premium paid by eligible individuals. The individual pays the remaining 35 percent. Specifically, there are two groups of people who may be eligible for credit. They are:

* Workers who lose their jobs due to the effects of international trade and

-- Are eligible for certain Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits; or

-- Are eligible for benefits under the Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance program

* People who receive benefits from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and are at least 55 years old.

In addition, eligible individuals must be covered by qualified health insurance, cannot be claimed as a dependent on another individual's tax return and cannot have other specified coverage, such as Medicare. Individuals may receive their benefits either in advance to help pay premiums as they are due or in a lump sum when they file their federal tax returns.

On-site registration and information sessions will take place for qualified individuals during the week of October 20 in three areas of the state. Those areas include:

* Tampa Bay area: Total qualified individuals: 1,327 (includes Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough and Citrus counties),

* Central Florida: Total qualified individuals: 1,269 (includes Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia and Brevard counties), and

* South Florida: Total qualified individuals: 3,738 (includes Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties).

The locations, times and dates of these events will be communicated as soon as they are available.

Eligible individuals are contacted by the federal government and sent an HCTC program kit. The kit contains information about the program, how to apply for the tax credit and who to contact for more information about qualified health plans. For more information, call toll-free 1-866-628-HCTC or visit the BCBSF website at http://www.bcbsfl.com/ and click on "individual."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) is a leader in Florida's health industry. BCBSF and its subsidiaries serve more than 6 million Floridians. Since 1944, the company has been dedicated to providing caring solutions that meet the diverse and ever-changing needs of all those it serves by offering an array of choices. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., BCBSF is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information concerning BCBSF, please see its website at http://www.bcbsfl.com/ . Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000427/BLUELOGOAhttp://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000427/BLUELOGOBAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida

CONTACT: Mark Wright of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida,+1-904-905-6935, or cell, +1-904-233-3481

Web site: http://www.bcbsfl.com/