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Originally Posted by GenuineRisk
In all fairness, it's hard to tell how it will all play out until it's actually well under way. I find it very hard to compare health care plans since they vary so much in what they offer and what the purchaser is liable for. But fingers crossed. The increase in competition is a very positive thing.
If it does work out well, it'll be interesting to see how things go in the states that are refusing to be part of the exchanges.
Back in the 1990s, when I had to buy my own insurance I was spending over 10 percent of my gross income on my health insurance (it was over $300 a month for me back then, as a young, thin, non smoker with no preexisting conditions). It sucked. Nice to think 20 somethings today may be able to get coverage without going broke doing it.
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one of the benefits the new insurance marketplaces offer is an apples to apples comparison between plans. a silver level plan from blue cross will be the same coverage as a silver level plan from united healthcare. What you experienced trying to compare plans that had multiple variables in what was offered won't be a problem in these marketplaces. consumers will be able to decide between plans that offer the same coverage.
in regard to overall costs being higher or lower, both sides of that debate are making arguments with minimal data. the insurance companies have no idea what the participation rate for young healthy (i.e. profitable) adults is going to be. even in places like new york and california where the 2014 rates are out (and generating headlines about lower costs) you'll likely see big increases in 2015 and beyond if those participation rates are low.
nonetheless, it's always enjoyable to see private companies offering a commodity in an open marketplace described as the end of liberty and the beginning of america's inevitable slide into socialism.