I’m confused. You said that most companies offer spousal coverage, yet the employee has to pay it out of pocket anyway (at a lower rate than an individual plan, though).

So the exchanges will essentially extend this to families where one parent is self-employed and the other is a homemaker or part-timer. It doesn’t sound like it will discriminate based on gender either, since the exchanges will be available to all who aren’t covered by an employer.

Isn’t this a good thing? And yes, I think that two-parent families, with both parents in total working less than two shifts should be encouraged. It’s good for the kids, and with unemployment being high as it is, taking some people out of the workforce voluntarily would help spread the wealth.

Sort of offering people on an overbooked flight a $500 voucher if they take the next plane 🙂