John, I agree in that people may not be getting enough for their money. I hoped for more (not quite sure what I expected). But we were seeing the lower premiums with high deductibles before ACA. They had coined the term "Consumer Driven Health Care".
But think about some things we've seen. For example (before ACA), someone gets laid off but has COBRA. They may not feel they can afford COBRA, but compare the rate they would get under COBRA to the rate they would pay if they didn't have COBRA, especially if the had a medical condition. Even just allergic rhinitis. Now compare those rates with what they can get now on some of the Exchanges. If the rate on the plans on the Exchanges is lower, that shows some progress on the issue. Now, maybe some will say it's not low enough to be "affordable." Now, that result can be either being unrealistic expectations, lack of competition in the insurance market, or just pernicious behavior on part of the insurance companies (I say it's a combo of all three, but mainly 2 & 3 but unfortunately I have no data to prove it one way or another).
Yes, there is a lot of postering on both sides out there. Frustrates the heck out of me, since what I (and I think most people) want is good, unbiased information so that they can make proper decisions.
