The ACA's subsidy cliff for older buyers

The New York Times quite rightly highlights* the plight of older ACA exchange shoppers who fall over the "subsidy cliff"  -- that is, earn just enough to be ineligible for premium subsides but are subject to high premium prices because they're older.

The article's poster family is in the worst possible situation as far as the ACA is concerned: 50-something couple, two kids, no employer-based insurance, and an income just over the subsidy line. You could say they're not representative, because they're worst-placed -- but that, in a way, was the point. Winners and losers should not be separated by $1000 in annual income.

There is a serious flaw in the ACA subsidy formula. If you're young and single, subsidies taper gradually. If you're 50something, they fall to zero abruptly.  If you're fiftysomething with kids, they fall very abruptly. That's because premium prices (and thus subsidies) are higher for older adults, and subsidies (if you qualify) rise with each additional person covered by the plan. If there's three or four or five of you, and you don't qualify, you lose effectively three or four or five subsidies. It's primarily age that carves the cliff, though -- especially for two older adults.