President Joe Biden’s administration has been grappling with the so-called “family glitch” of the Affordable Care Act, a quirk that is estimated to have left some 5 million people out of legal coverage.White House announces new policy suggestion Tuesday.

The people who are tripped by the home failure are the dependents of workers who provide employer insurance that the government interprets as affordable. Generally, people with affordable employer coverage are not eligible for taxpayer-subsidized ACA plans.

But the problem with the current interpretation is that affordability depends on the cost of employee-only coverage, not more expensive home policies. Workers who can afford their share may not be able to pay premiums for the entire family. So the family was excluded from ACA coverage.

A Biden administration regulation on the issue recently passed White House scrutiny. The original policy was designed to prevent people with employer insurance from entering the subsidized market for health laws, but advocates say it has proven too restrictive.

The White House estimates the solution will help 200,000 people get insurance and reduce costs by nearly 1 million.

Former President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday and he could enjoy a moment. His signature Affordable Care Act is now part of the U.S. healthcare architecture, and Biden is seeking to expand its reach. Under Biden, enrollments under the health law have increased, and more generous taxpayer subsidies have lowered costs for enrollees, albeit temporarily.

Shortly after taking office, Biden Open A health insurance marketplace for anyone seeking coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his coronavirus relief bill provides a major but temporary increase in financial aid.record result 14.5 million people signed up Get subsidized private insurance.

Unless Democrats in Congress finally coalesce around Biden’s version of social legislation, his enhanced financial aid to millions of people buying the ACA program will expire at the end of the year. A return to higher premiums could spark an increase in the uninsured, a political embarrassment for Democrats working to expand coverage.

The Biden bill passed by the House, but Sputtering in the Senate, also includes a mechanism to provide coverage to as many as 4 million uninsured low-income adults in states that deny the health law’s Medicaid expansion. It would deliver on Biden’s campaign promise to build on existing government plans to bring America closer to universal coverage.