[Virginia] Qualifying for Marketplace APTC

So, here are the relevant facts that I can think of:

I work in Virginia for a janitorial company contracted to a hospital, working full-time for $13.50 / hour. I am 35 years old. I am looking for gender-affirming healthcare. My company's health insurance for hourly employees is a "partially self-funded plan" (according to HR) administered by Boon Administrative Services, Inc. There are two insurance plans offered by my company to hourly employees, both of which have blanket exclusions on gender-related care. "Gender-Affirming care. Related to a gender-affirming care." is listed under "Medical Benefit Exclusions Subject to the Plan’s provisions, limitations and exclusions, the following are not covered major medical benefits:" The costs of the insurance plans are $46 or $76 per paycheck, respectively. I have no dependents or spouses.

Now, from what I understand, one cannot qualify for things like the advanced premium tax credits if their workplace offers insurance that is affordable and meets minimum standards.the fact that my workplace offers insurance that costs below 8.39% of my household income means that it qualifies as "affordable", but I am unsure if it qualifies as meeting minimum standards, since it has a blanket exclusion on medically necessary care that I am seeking.

My question is as follows: is there any way to get insurance coverage for gender-affirming healthcare that will not cost me $400+ per month, without quitting my job or cutting my hours? When I asked my company if they could change the insurance exclusion (since they are one of those companies that harps on how supportive and inclusive that they are), I was told by HR that "plans are partially self-funded but we do not have full control of all plan designs. Any changes to the plan are subject to underwriting and financial impact analysis. Gender-related care coverage is one area we will review during the 2025 renewal process", which strikes me as corporate non-answers, since my company is notoriously "budget-minded".

Thanks for your time, and sorry for rambling!

submitted by /u/SoftBoiledEgg_irl
[comments]