Insurance for 19 y.o.

Hello. I (45F) have always carried employer-provided health insurance for my family of 4. My husband and I are divorcing, and our oldest son turns 26. The youngest will be 19 in the summer. He works 30-40 hrs per week, but doesn't have a health insurance option at his job. He also takes 15 hrs at community college.

When my ex and other son are not on the plan, it will be $512 per month for 2 of us or $156 for me. I know private insurance is ridiculous, but I wanted to see if he could have his own plan and how it would compare in price. (I'd pay for it for now, but I want to see if we can get a better deal, or appreciate that the deal we have is really good in the big scheme. It's frustrating because me + 4 kids would be the same price.)

He filed as single for 2022 taxes, even though he was in high school for half the year. That allowed him to get his college tax credit. We will all be filing single next year. He will make around $30,000, but I make $210k. His dad will make around $125k. He will split his time at both houses. What counts as household income? Seems like if I don't claim him and he has a f/t job, it wouldn't be different than 2 roommates (home owner/renter), but I don't work for the government. Would he be priced out because they would count household income as his + one of ours?

Thanks for any advice. . .it's a new topic for me.

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ETA: Ex owns a small business and oldest son works for him. They will have cobra or a marketplace plan. No different employer insurance is an option.

Also ETA: I know I seem to have a higher income and should stop my complaining, but as you can see if you do the math, I had my oldest kid when I was 19 and have been budgeting, paying bills, and working towards higher income my whole life and I don't like to waste money if there are savings to be had. Going from one household to two is expensive.

submitted by /u/No_Specific8175
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