Should Married People Get a Family Plan?
I have just enrolled for health insurance but i am a little worried because I am married and the representative told me it would be cheeper to enroll separately then to enroll as married. Will this cause me problems later and if so can i make the changes now?
Answer
If you are married and want cost assistance you have to get a family plan, that being said family plans offer different cost sharing then individual plans. Or at least this will generally be the case with Marketplace cost assistance.
If you aren't eligible for cost assistance then you'll want to weigh your options. Family plans have higher cost sharing limits, but on the plus side all medical expenses for the family go toward the plans cost sharing. On two individual plans you'll rack up different cost sharing amounts, but have lower limits for each plan. The more people you have in your family, the better deal a family plan becomes.
Just keep in mind that you officially claim tax credits when you file, so at the end of the day you should base total health insurance costs on how you'll file. If you file jointly, and want cost assistance, you'll need to go with the family plan.