RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 16 -- North Carolina Justice Center issued the following news release:

Beginning in 2014, more than a million North Carolinians will be eligible to participate in the huge and unprecedented middle class tax cuts that will help pay for the cost of private health insurance.

These tax cuts--$110.1 billion nationally in 2014 alone--will be provided in the form of tax credits to offset a portion of the cost of health insurance premiums, and will be worth billions of dollars to North Carolina residents that year.

Those are among the key findings of a report co-released on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, by the NC Justice Center's Health Access Coalition and the health care consumer group Families USA.

"Health reform creates lower premiums and higher-quality care for North Carolina's working families," said Adam Searing, director of the NC Justice Center's Health Access Coalition. "This means better health and a more prosperous economy for everyone."

Titled "Lower Taxes, Lower Premiums: The New Health Insurance Tax Credit in North Carolina," the report highlights: By income level, how many North Carolinians will be eligible for the new tax credit;

The total value of tax credits for eligible people in North Carolina in 2014; The number of North Carolinians eligible for the tax credit who are in working families; The number of insured North Carolinians who are struggling with health coverage costs and who will receive assistance through the new tax credits; and The number of North Carolinians who are currently uninsured and will be able to afford coverage due to the new tax credits.

A teleconference for North Carolina media will be held on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, to discuss the new Families USA report. The conference call will feature Rep. G.K. Butterfield a Democrat from North Carolina's First District, with Ron Pollack, Executive Director, Families USA. at 10 a.m. Dial in toll-free: 4269724. Confirmation code: 888-801-6502

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Adam Searing, NC Justice Center, adam@ncjustice.org; (919) 856-2568 Adam Linker, NC Justice Center, adam.linker@ncjustice.org; (919) 861-2074; Dave Lemmon, Geraldine Henrich-Koenis or Bob Meissner with Families USA, (202) 628-3030.

TNS gv51gv 100918-3010679 61GemaViana