High Premiums
Obamacare increased the cost of individual market health insurance coverage by 133 percent between 2013 and 2022.
For the same period in the large-employer market, national average premiums paid grew by only 44 percent
High Deductibles
The average deductible for self-only bronze plans sold on the exchanges increased from $5,094 in 2014 to $7,144 in 2024.
By comparison, self-only coverage among workers enrolled in employer-sponsored “high deductible” plans was $3,552 in firms with fewer than 200 workers and $2,317 in firms with more than 200 workers.
Narrow Networks
Only 15 percent of bronze plans and 12 percent of silver plans offered on the Obamacare exchanges are PPO plans. The remainder have restrictive provider networks – with a limited number of “in-network” providers, providing no reimbursement for out-of-network care or requiring “pre-approval” for more covered services.
in the employer-sponsored group insurance market, about half of covered workers are enrolled in PPO plans.
Less Choice
In 2013, the year before Obamacare took effect, there were 395 insurers offering coverage in the individual market at the state level. By 2018 there were only 181 insurers offering coverage on the Obamacare exchanges, and there were eight states in which only one insurer offered exchange coverage.
Source Ed Haislmaier, Ten Health Trends, Heritage Foundation