Can Domestic Partners and LGBT Couples Get Marketplace Insurance?
Domestic Partners and LGBT Couples Can Get Marketplace Health Insurance.
If you have an unmarried partner, LGBT or not, your eligibility for subsidies and tax credits depends on how you file your taxes and on state regulations. Some insurance companies offer coverage for unmarried domestic partners, and some do not; you need to check the options available to you.
If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), you are legally entitled to the same insurance at the same price as anyone else. Same-sex couples may name a representative to make medical decisions and, if married, have the same protections and rights as any other married couple regarding eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP. Unmarried domestic partners must apply on the healthcare marketplaces separately instead of as a couple, but may be able to buy a family policy depending on their state marketplace.
If you have children, you will have to decide if one of you is going to claim them as an exemption or if you will share the exemption. For instance, if you have two children and you each claim one child as an exemption, each adult and child will be considered a household of two. If one person claims both children as exemptions, they become a household of three; the other partner would then file separately.
Unmarried domestic partners are considered to be two separate households for tax credits, subsidies, and Medicaid purposes. Although each person is considered individually, some insurance companies allow domestic partners to buy family policies. You need to check with your state marketplace.
