Filing taxes can be bewildering and anxious, Knowing they’re done right is a gift. You’re a good friend to your community.

And yes, our system is terribly wrong.

If he was covering a family it would be about $25k.
RWNJs are screaming about “if it was so affordable why do we need subsidies” not considering that most of them get a HUGE “subsidy” from their employer.

Retired couple. Pay medicare $5,000 pay supplemental $8000.

The cost is reported on a W2 for informational purposes only.

Additionally, the premiums paid by the employee (the employee's share of the total premium) that is deducted from the employee's paycheck reduces the taxable income that is reported to the IRS.

Premiums are typically split between the employee and the employer. The portion paid by the employee is called "pre-tax" premiums. Pre-tax medical premiums are health insurance payments deducted from your gross pay before federal, state, and FICA (Social Security/Medicare) taxes are calculated. This method reduces your taxable income.

Edit to add: The above applies only when the employee portion is withheld from your paycheck. Conversely, if you buy your own insurance, you are paying with "after tax" dollars, that do not reduce your taxable income.

Because they work and have far lower administrative costs than commercial insurance.

Because they want the money.

and had to buy individual coverage, his cost would be even higher.

When will we wake up?

I was in that hole for a couple years until I could get on my wife's insurance.

Had to buy super expensive insurance that covered very little.

My teacher salary was $1,200 a month. My health insur was 100% paid by me and it was $1,400 a month. So I was basically working only in order to pay for my health care and even at that it was a loss of $200 a month.

Since then, I have paid as much as 20% of my gross pay towards healthcare premiums (paid with pre-tax dollars, of course.) Any free plans offered by various employers would have been too costly to actually use for non-catastrophic purposes (due to high deductibles.)

insurance oligarchy.

Here's an estimate for a person like you mentioned, including what he would have paid before Trump and his Republucans raised premiums:

https://www.kff.org/interactive/calculator-aca-enhanced-premium-tax-credit/#state=&zip=&income-type=dollars&income=26000&employer-coverage=0&people=1&alternate-plan-family=&adult-count=1&adults%5B0%5D%5Bage%5D=21&adults%5B0%5D%5Btobacco%5D=0&child-count=0