Question: I have just started a new job and was looking forward to having a company health plan, but what they are offering me is not a good deal. I can’t afford it. Can I stay with my Covered California plan?

Answer: Employee-only coverage is considered to be affordable if it costs less than 9.66 percent of household income in 2016. If employee-only coverage is affordable, then any offer of coverage for dependents is automatically considered affordable as well. This means that coverage offered by an employer to dependents may cost more than 9.66 percent of income and still be deemed affordable as long as the employee-only coverage costs less than 9.66 percent of income. In such cases, the dependents are not eligible for a premium tax credit because they are considered to have affordable employer-sponsored coverage.