Is Obamacare affordable?

By Marcie Geffner - Bankrate

The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, has made health insurance accessible for millions of formerly uninsured people. But are Obamacare health plans as affordable as the law's name implies?

For some people, no. My experience could be a case study.

My pre-ACA individual health insurance policy had a $317 monthly premium and $5,200 annual deductible. It provided me with protection against catastrophic medical bills, reasonable negotiated rates for services and access to a wide selection of doctors.

In 2014, my policy was canceled because it didn't comply with the health care law, and my insurer moved me into a new "bronze" plan. Obamacare plans come in four metallic tiers; bronze is the lowest tier and pays just 60 percent of covered medical expenses.

The Affordable Care Act offers subsidies to help with the costs, but my income level makes me ineligible for those.

My new plan came with a $344 premium, $4,500 deductible and $6,300 out-of-pocket maximum. In January 2015, my premium jumped to $382, for a two-year increase of $65 per month, or $780 per year.

I had to wonder: In what way is a more-than-20-percent spike in premiums "affordable"?

Read more:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/obamacare-without-subsidies-is-it-still-affordable.aspx