By Tad Johnson, Sun This Week – May 5, 2022
Kruegers were caught in ‘family glitch’ paying 25% of their income on health insurance
A 2006 Lakeville North High School graduate and her Savage family will be paying much less for their health insurance after President Joe Biden signed an executive order on April 5 to fix the “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act.
Allie Krueger and her husband, Bobby Krueger, attended a White House ceremony as their story of paying more than 25% of their household income despite having insurance through Bobby Krueger’s employer became emblematic of the “family glitch,” which has similarly affected more than 5 million Americans and 62,000 Minnesotans.
For those families, they had been paying more than the 9.83% of household income deemed affordable by the ACA because the percentage for a subsidy pertained only to single people or an individual parent, in their case Bobby, and not the rest of the family.
When Allie Krueger lost her job in 2021 as entertainment manager of large venue, she was unable to use the MNsure health care exchange since her husband was receiving insurance through a private employer. Despite the job loss, the family was earning too much to qualify for low-income government programs.
The additional coverage the Kruegers obtained through the employee plan for Allie, one child, and two on the way pushed their health care costs to over 25% of their income.
Allie Krueger said the couple considered getting divorced, since it would allow her to enter the ACA exchange. Another option was to lower their income to qualify for Medicaid.
She then sought help from the office of U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Prior Lake.
Craig said she was aware about the “family glitch,” but hearing a personal story reflective of the problem made it a real issue worth changing.
She said that for nearly a year she used the Kruegers’ story to pressure the White House to address the “family glitch.”
Craig argued that paying more than 25% of a family’s income was more than unsustainable for working families.
The fix allows family members of workers who are offered affordable self-only coverage but unaffordable family coverage may qualify for premium tax credits to buy ACA coverage.