October 13, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, October 13, 2022
RICHMOND, VA – A new IRS rule removes the “family glitch,” making over 160,000 Virginians and up to 5.1 million people nationwide newly eligible for financial help with health coverage, according to a 2021 Kaiser Family Foundation report. The correction was published to the federal register today, in time for the start of Open Enrollment for the 2023 plan year at Healthcare.gov. Families that were unable to access financial help over the last decade because of the glitch will now be able to benefit from the Marketplace’s enhanced subsidies as they start enrolling on November 1.
“This fix is going to have a huge impact in Virginia,” said Deepak Madala, Director of Enroll Virginia. “The family glitch has prevented working Virginians and their families from accessing low-cost and high-quality health insurance for nearly a decade. Now, these families won’t have to choose between going uninsured or paying too much for unaffordable health coverage.”
A Third Way report published in April estimated that a Virginia family of four with income at 200% of the federal poverty level would save $4,197 from a fix to the family glitch. According to the report, Virginia families are expected to save slightly more than the national average ($4,152 for a family of four).
The financial help offered on the Marketplace is primarily available to those who are not able to get affordable coverage though Medicaid, Medicare, FAMIS, or their employer. The “family glitch” occurred because the IRS used only the cost of an employee’s self-only insurance premium to determine if coverage was affordable for the entire family. The cost of adding family members to job-based coverage is significant. Many families of working individuals were therefore prevented from accessing subsidies, even when the job-based plans were unaffordable. The corrected rule allows family members who are offered unaffordable job-based family coverage to buy subsidized insurance on the Marketplace.
Open Enrollment on Virginia’s health insurance exchange – which will be housed on Healthcare.gov this year before transitioning to a new platform in 2024 – begins November 1. More families are eligible for financial help than ever before because of enhanced federal funding for premium tax credits. Enroll Virginia, a community-based organization and project of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, provides assistance to all Virginians seeking to enroll in health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and FAMIS. Navigators and assisters provide support through the entire application process, from determining eligibility to submitting an enrollment application.
Consumers can contact Enroll Virginia’s staff by calling 1-888-392-5132. When they enter their ZIP code, they will be directly transferred to a navigator in their community. They can also visit Enroll Virginia’s website – enrollva.org/get-help – to find local assisters online and schedule an appointment.
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Enroll Virginia (a project of the Virginia Poverty Law Center) is a network of community-based organizations committed to helping Virginians access high quality, affordable health coverage. Our navigators and enrollment experts are trained and certified to provide free, unbiased assistance on health insurance options available through Healthcare.gov, Medicaid, and FAMIS. Enroll Virginia is supported by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange, in accordance with the provisions of Va. Code § 38.2-6513(B). The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors.
CONTACT: Mara Guyer
Marketing and Communications Manager, Enroll Virginia
804-366-3531