On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, paving the way for more same-sex couples to marry legally, healthcare policy researchers say that these same individuals may not be able to get some of the benefits resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Brain Haile, senior vice president for the healthcare policy organization Jackson Hewitt, noted that same-sex couples who have similar employee benefits and incomes may not be able to get the tax credits associated with the ACA. The reason is because these perks go away once two people decide to get married.
"For example, same-sex partners who each have an income of $40,000 may be eligible for the premium assistance tax credits under the ACA – but only if they remain single," said Haile in the report "Preliminary Analysis: Impact of Supreme Court's DOMA Ruling on ACA Programs." "If they marry [in those states that allow same-sex marriage], then they would lose eligibility because their income would be over the threshold for a household of two."
At the same time, though, same-sex couples may be able to get these benefits after all if one person works and the other doesn't, because their household salary could fall within the qualification level needed to take advantage of the tax credit.
Additionally, if only one partner has access to coverage through their employer, they too might lose access to tax subsidies.
"Simply put, getting hitched affects their health care," said Haile.
Meanwhile, as employers figure out their obligations under the ACA, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that the employer mandate – requiring business owners to provide coverage to their workers – will not go into effect until January 2015. Officials said the delay was necessary in order for more companies to achieve HR compliance.
