A pair of Democrats heading Congress’ main tax committees are asking leaders of the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to finalize a rule that would open up greater access for families to claim premium tax credits for health insurance.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, sent a
The lawmakers said the proposed rule would specifically make health coverage more affordable for family members of small business and service employees, in line with the intent of Congress by further helping more families obtain affordable health coverage.
“Through the American Rescue Plan, 14.5 million Americans are receiving affordable coverage through the ACA marketplaces,” wrote Neal and Wyden. "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.”
Instead of determining the affordability of an employer plan, and the associated eligibility for the premium tax credit, based only on the cost of self-only coverage, the proposed regulation would focus on the cost of coverage that includes the employee’s family members. The proposed regulation would allow family members without affordable family coverage through an employer to benefit from the premium tax credit to purchase health insurance plans through the government marketplace.
“We have long believed that this is the appropriate reading of the statute,” Neal and Wyden wrote.
The Biden administration anticipates the proposal would enable hundreds of thousands of uninsured Americans to gain health coverage, and nearly 1 million Americans would see their coverage become more affordable. They also cited an
