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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Laid-off Atlantic City casino workers are getting some help with health care and insurance.
The AtlantiCare health care system on Thursday unveiled a program to assist those who recently lost jobs and health coverage through one of the four Atlantic City casino closings this year at the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza.
The AtlantiCare Community Healthcare Access Program will include education and counseling about health care and insurance, and premium assistance with new coverage the laid-off employees find through public markets. It will cover up to 75 percent of the federally unsubsidized Silver Plan premium (capped at $1,200 per individual covered under the plan) available through the Health Insurance Marketplace for eligible participants.
The premium assistance would last for up to a year, as long as the recipient keeps his or her portion of the premium payments current.
"True to our mission of delivering health and healing for all people, we evaluated how best to help our friends, family members and neighbors who have been impacted by the recent casino closures," said AtlantiCare President David Tilton.
Company workers will also work with laid off employees to resolve health care bills incurred at AtlantiCare before Sept. 30.
The program also applies to employees of businesses that operated within the casinos, like restaurants and shops that were forced to close when the casinos did. About 8,000 Atlantic City casino workers have lost their jobs this year; if the Trump Taj Mahal closes next month as threatened, that number would rise to 11,000.
AtlantiCare is giving free flu shots to laid-off workers, and will help look for insurance for people who do not qualify for its program.
The company also will donate $500,000 in donations to charities that support residents in its southern New Jersey service area, in addition to the nearly $400,000 in community benefit donations it makes annually.
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Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC
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