Question: I’ve opted to have an individual health plan because, being in good health, it’s less expensive than buying into my spouses employer plan. As an independant contractor, will I be eligible for a health insurance tax subsidy if our family income is low enough?

Answer: The ACA says that someone with access to “affordable” employer-sponsored coverage cannot get a premium subsidy from state exchanges in 2014, unless the cost of the employer-based health care coverage for that employee exceeds 9.5 percent of the worker’s household income. The IRS ruled recently that the calculation of affordability will be based on the cost of employee-only coverage, not family coverage. For example, if your spouse contributes $300 each month or $3600 for the year for his or her portion of the premium for the employee only, Your family income would have to be less than $37,895 per year no family member would qualify for a subsidy even though they are not covered by the spouse’s group plan.