(12-31-2014 09:52 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(12-31-2014 05:11 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(12-31-2014 05:08 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Then what on earth are you complaining about?

I'll make this easy. For the poor, having a high deductible plan is the exact same as having no plan at all. So, in essence, nothing changed.

Well I'm glad we cleared that up.

Of course if anyone looks around on the website for any amount of time they will discover that there are a variety of plans available. Some are high deductible plans and some aren't. Some have $5/15/40 co-pays and some have $50/75/100 ones. Some total out of pockets are $1000 and some are $5000 or more. And there are a lot in between the extremes. Shoppers have to consider their needs and figure out what works best for them. If someone is young and healthy they might not need more than a bronze plan with low premiums and high deductible and out of pocket maximums. If they are older and/or have medical issues then paying a higher premium for a gold or platinum plan is probably worth it. Access to a particular practice or hospital system you like will also need to a consideration. You can save up front money on a narrower network but spending more on a broad network plan to make sure you can go to any of the area facilities rather than just one or two of them certainly can make a difference.

There are plenty of choices out there on the exchanges and while there are some that continually harp on the high deductible that people can't afford the reality is that there are options that make it both affordable and comprehensive.