The General Assembly has appropriated $13 million in funds for premium assistance to make monthly premiums more affordable for low-income participants. Preliminarily, the State's Board of Directors have made some determinations about how the premium assistance program will be structured with more deliberation to follow.

Among these early decisions, the State's Board of Directors has determined that premium assistance:

•  Will be available for applicants up to 350% of federal poverty level, up to an annual household income of $75,000.
• Is limited to available funding; not all of those meeting eligibility criteria will necessarily qualify.
•  Will range from 20% of premium to 60% of premium based on household income.
•  Will only be available for Plan 1000, which has the lowest deductible and highest premiums.

To create incentives toward healthier behavior and to maximize funds available to help lower-income participants, the Board has decided that premium assistance funds will be allocated based on the amount of a non-smoking participant at target weight or below.