WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig was joined by Savage, Minnesota, native Allie and Bobby Krueger at a White House ceremony at which President Joe Biden announced executive action to lower health care costs for more than 5 million Americans. For nearly a year, Craig has publicly highlighted the story of the Krueger family who, because of a gap in the Affordable Care Act’s subsidized marketplace, were facing insurance premiums that cost more than 25% of their household income – a price that Craig argued was more than unsustainable for working families in this country.
At the event, President Biden announced a proposed rule change officially closing the “family glitch” – a step Craig has repeatedly called for which could save 62,000 Minnesotans and 5 million Americans thousands of dollars annually on their health insurance premiums. A video of the signing ceremony is available here.
“Since the day I arrived in Congress, I’ve been fighting to lower out-of-pocket health care costs for Minnesotans. And today, I’m happy to see that hard work pay off, as President Biden follows through on our promise to fix the family glitch that has made health care unaffordable for more than 5 million families nationwide,” said Representative Craig. “I’m so thrilled that the Administration is taking this long-overdue action to lower costs for working families like the Kruegers – and I couldn’t be happier that Allie and Bobby were able to join me at the White House on this special day.”
In Congress, Craig has long prioritized fixing the “Family Glitch” and lowering health care costs for working families. Last year, Craig publicly pressured Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on the issue. And, earlier this year, Craig helped introduce a bill to resolve the glitch through legislative action.
The family glitch originated from a 2013 Internal Revenue Service and Department of Treasury rule, which determined that families are ineligible for financial assistance if a family member is offered “affordable” employer coverage. In 2021, the affordability threshold is 9.83%, which means that an individual qualifies for subsidized marketplace coverage if their employer health insurance premiums exceed 9.83% of household income. However, this threshold does not take into account the cost of covering the rest of the household, which can make coverage prohibitively expensive for many families.
A recent analysis estimated that 5.1 million people nationwide are impacted by the family glitch, including 62,000 Minnesotans. In Minnesota, the average annual premium for an individual is $6,904 and the average annual family premium is $20,751. Under the glitch, a family with a household income of $85,000 would not qualify for premium tax credit assistance even if they paid the average family total, which would amount to more than 24% of their household income.
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Issues: Health Care
Original source can be found here.
