Health Bill has a Marriage Tax
For people who buy subsidized insurance in the health insurance exchanges, being single is better than being married:
For an unmarried couple with income of $25,000 each, combined premiums would be capped at $3,076 per year, under the House bill. If the couple gets married, with a combined income of $50,000, their annual premium cap jumps to $5,160 — a “penalty” of $2,084…
Under the Senate bill, a couple with $50,000 combined income would pay $3,450 in annual premiums if unmarried, and $5,100 if married — a difference of $1,650.
That would only be true if the premium for a married couple is twice the premium of an individual. But that’s not true. I personally know the group rates my company pays for health insurance. The rate for a married couple with no children is significantly less then twice the premium for an individual. However John, it was a nice red herring to point out for your less knowledgeable readers.
Artk, this penalty is not affected by the actual premium. These are the capped amounts that people will have to pay. The remainding premium will be paid by the government.
So the penalty really is a real penalty, in the amounts given.
It is no suprise to me that there is a marriage tax. I think these people don’t really believe in marriage anyway.
Here is the general priniciple: Almost every time Congress creates a system of subsidies and penalties, a marriage tax is virtually inevitable.
Did anyone notice that the bill requires coverage for same sex couples and domestic partners?
All kinds of things are being stuffed into this bill that could never pass on their own.