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Health insurance & HSAs

Benchmark silver plan

The benchmark silver plan is the second-lowest-cost silver plan available to a household in its area on the Health Insurance Marketplace. The premium tax credit is calculated as the difference between that plan's premium and the amount the household is expected to contribute based on income, whichever plan the household actually buys.

Because the credit is pegged to the benchmark, a household can pay very little for a bronze plan or substantially more for gold, even though the subsidy amount is the same. Explaining that relationship is usually the turning point in an ACA enrollment conversation.

The benchmark changes by county and by year as carriers enter, exit and reprice, so any estimate should be treated as a starting point. Final figures come from the Marketplace application, not from a calculator.

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