There are way too many opinion threads on this forum about the ACA without any actual data. Today is the day the exchanges open, since im a self employed single payer, I am seriously considering surfing the exchanges and comparing with my current insurance costs and seeing if I save money.

Meanwhile, my fiance (wife in a month) has no insurance, and must comply with getting insurance this month as required under the ACA.
The reasons for this are she has a preexisting medical condition, and could not afford to pay 390 bucks a month (quoted from BCBS) on top of rent, student loans, ect to insure herself.

some info about our insurance needs and the local situation-

the only company on the RI insurance exchange is "Blue Cross, Blue Shield of RI" This is the company I currently do business with already.

I am 32, good health, non smoker, no preexisting condition apart from sports injuries. The fiance is 30, good health, non smoker, and has an anemic condition. Nothing big.

I currently pay BCBS of RI $234.53 for a insurance plan with a 2500 dollar deductible, and an out of pocket maximum of 5 grand, and a dental plan. the division is 194.54 for insurance, 39.99 for dental. I make approximately 35k a year.

Surfing the exchanges, I find a close BCBS of RI plan with similar features listed at $253.58. This one has a 2600 dollar deductible, but a better out of pocket maximum of 4 grand. It is roughly equivalent to my current plan, and based on my income, I do not qualify for any tax credits.

Dental is next, my current 39.99 a month dental plan is listed as the "dental direct essential plan".
The exchange lists the exact same plan as $31.20.

If I were to switch to BCBS insurance through the state insurance exchange, I would go from paying $234.53 to paying $284.78 with a little better benefits as far as maximum out of pocket for a similar plan. It will not be cost effective for me to change from my current plan. If I were to double my deductible up to 5k, I could pay about $227.20.

The biggest difference for our family unit will be the fiances difference in insurance. I just plugged all the info in for her (she has about the same income, about 30k a year), and instead of the quoted 390 bucks a month from BCBS, she can buy insurance for as low as $188 dollars a month (with a 5k deductible).

Done as a family unit with a combined income of 65000, our total costs would come in around 400-500 bucks a month on the exchange with a 2500 dollar deductible. This is a doable situation.


I then started playing with the income levels, and if our income was 40k as a family unit, insurance for our family would be under 100 bucks based on tax credits.

Everyone should start playing with the exchange websites and see what things are locally in their states, I found this a very interesting exercise

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