Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) expressed their strong support for a proposed regulation that would bring down health care costs for Americans with unaffordable employer-sponsored coverage by fixing the so-called “family glitch,” and finally allow certain family members to access to the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits. In a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles P. Rettig, the lawmakers emphasized how the proposed rule would specifically make health coverage more affordable for family members of small business and service employees, and would carry out the intent of Congress by further helping more families obtain affordable health coverage.
“The ACA has resulted in significant improvements to our health care system by expanding access to health insurance, lowering health care costs, and increasing the quality of care,” wrote Neal and Wyden. “Through the American Rescue Plan, 14.5 million Americans are receiving affordable coverage through the ACA Marketplaces. By reducing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, the financial assistance made available under the ACA has provided millions of working families with peace of mind and economic security.”
The Chairs continued: “The proposed regulation by Treasury and IRS would strengthen the ACA by fixing the ‘family glitch.’ Rather than determining the affordability of an employer plan, and the associated eligibility for the premium tax credit, based solely on the cost of self-only coverage, the proposed regulation would look to the cost of coverage that includes the employee’s family members. Thus, the proposed regulation would ensure that those family members without affordable family coverage through an employer can benefit from the premium tax credit to purchase high-quality Marketplace plans. We have long believed that this is the appropriate reading of the statute. ”
The full letter is available HERE.
Original source can be found here.
