It has been brought to our attention that Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) has introduced a bill known as the Family Coverage Act. You can view the summary here.

What is the Family Coverage Act?

The Family Coverage Act intends to correct the “Family Glitch” which prohibits many families from obtaining affordable coverage under the new healthcare reform law. This issue mostly pertains to Americans who receive health benefits through there employer.

As the law is currently written, “affordable” health insurance coverage is only calculated on what the employee pays for single, or “employee only” coverage, regardless of the cost to add family members to the policy.  Currently, most employers providing job based health insurance contribute 50% or more to the “employee only “cost. Due to the rising cost of health insurance, many employers do not contribute to the cost of family coverage. Currently, as long as the “employee only” coverage does not exceed 9.5% of the families combined income, the entire family is deemed ineligible for tax credits to help pay for health insurance on the health insurance exchange; healthcare.gov. This has left many families with the double whammy of unaffordable coverage and facing a tax penalty for not having coverage in 2014.

If the Family Coverage Act were to pass Congress and be signed into law, millions of American families could potentially be helped afford coverage and avoid tax penalties!

As your South Carolina Obamacare Agent, we will be closely monitoring the progress of this bill in the United States House & Senate. Stay tuned for updates!