Sorry for the title , it just kinda came to my head . that didn ' t sound right . <| sep |> It doesn ' t reallyYou can get a plan on the public exchange for 230 a month for a single person with a high deductable . If you want a lower deductible or cover an entire family it costs more yes , but those numbers are in line with what an employee pays for workplace healthcareAdditionally , the person above mentioned paying 400 out of 2 k a month for healthcare and then losing their whole tax refundI don ' t believe thisIf they make 24 k a year they are making low enough money that they qualify for federal subsidiesThis would be the case unless the spouse makes a significant amount more money and they are filing jointly , however if that is the case they can afford it , or and quite likely if they are just total idiots and signed up for the worst plan or aren ' t going after the subsidies