Obamacare Trashes Married Couples

An unnoticed danger of the Obamacare is the attack it mounts against married couples. According to a report from the Heritage Foundation, ObamaCare could cost married couples $10,000 per year. Obamacare counts a married couple’s income jointly, so their health care subsidies would be lower, while a couple living together would have their incomes counted separately, so their subsidies would be higher. The report shows married couples in general would receive between $1,500 and $10,000 less in subsidies from the government than unwed couples.

Couples could do better by living together rather than marrying. Indeed, couples staying married could be losing over $200,000 if they stay married throughout their lives.

A married couple is eligible for the federal subsidies if they make less than 400% above what the government considers poverty, but the poverty line for marrieds is lower than the combined level for couples living together. The unmarried couple could have a higher income and still reap the benefit of subsidies.