As California residents have likely noticed, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare as it is commonly known, is getting quite a bit of attention in the news lately. Yet, aside from the discussions surrounding website registration hiccups, insurance coverage deadlines and meeting insurance policy requirements, there is also some focus on the act’s relationship to divorce.
The divorce process triggers questions of, not only property division, child custody and alimony, but also financial stability and whether one can be self-supporting post-divorce. Inherent in such financial concerns is certainly the question of whether an ex-spouse will have health insurance coverage after a split. A new question recently raised by radio celebrity and notoriously right leaning pundit Rush Limbaugh is whether Obamacare actually causes an increase in divorce rates because couples stand better to qualify for federal insurance subsidies on a single salary.
On his radio program on Dec. 6, Limbaugh estimated that people are divorcing in order to qualify for the ACA. Per sources, Limbaugh is extracting this conclusion from a news story regarding a New York couple considering divorce in order to qualify for subsidies under the ACA.
According to some, the government program is a bit of a marriage tax. Married couples’ incomes are bracketed differently than single individual incomes, thus, making it more difficult for married parties to qualify for subsidies.
Making sure one has all the answers and consequences before obtaining a divorce is certainly a smart endeavor. A vigorous divorce attorney can answer these complicated questions for a separating spouse in order to ensure the end results are optimized.
Source: Tampa Bay Times, “Rush Limbaugh says Obamacare will cause an increase in the divorce rate,” Dec. 11, 2013.
