{"id":6052,"date":"2021-04-29T15:02:54","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T19:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chirblog.org\/?p=6052"},"modified":"2021-04-29T15:02:54","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T19:02:54","slug":"aca-family-glitch-increases-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chirblog.org\/aca-family-glitch-increases-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"ACA \u201cFamily Glitch\u201d Increases Health Care Costs for Millions of Low- and Middle-Income Families"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Christina Goe* and Dania Palanker<\/em><\/p>\n The Biden administration and Congress can make health insurance more affordable for millions of families by eliminating the so-called family glitch, which prohibits family members from enrolling in marketplace plans with lower premiums and cost sharing because one member of the family has an offer of \u201caffordable\u201d employer coverage. The family glitch deprives millions of people<\/a> of access to affordable coverage.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it works: under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals receive subsidies to reduce premium costs for health plans purchased through the marketplace. In addition, the lowest-income enrollees are eligible for cost-sharing reductions that lower deductibles and copayments. But these benefits\u00a0are not available<\/a>\u00a0to individuals who are eligible for affordable employer coverage.\u00a0For families, affordability \u2014 for everyone, including eligible spouses and children \u2014 is determined based on the employee\u2019s coverage. Even if the employer\u2019s contribution is for the employee only, those costs are used in calculating affordability for the entire family.<\/p>\n