Pre-ACA, I could afford family insurance. My family premiums went up ~$500 a month post-ACA, while the coverage worsened.

My afib ER trip three years ago cost me $7k out of pocket even though I left the hospital still in afib.

Today in my 50s, my deductible is now $8,500. My partner doesn't have insurance because she's not poor enough or rich enough.

We had an insurance rep come to my work last year who said after ACA they had some people whose premiums went up 900%.

So yeah, ACA is better in your world, but not in mine.

Yeah, since the ACA my coverage has remained the same while my costs have risen 10x; I'm in my 30s and my medical insurance costs 3x what my mortgage costs, and I still have $$$$ sized bills after a round of strep throat.

I would really like to just be able to get a true catastrophic policy which would cover unlikely risks such as cancer -- and then go on a cash basis for common meds and treatments. The ACA made this kind of insurance illegal, so my choice is to leave my family uninsured -- or let insurance soak up the money I might have saved for their college education.

Your blame is misplaced. Costs are increasing in spite of the ACA, not because of it. Pre-ACA your family insurance policy was likely worse in some key ways: it probably excluded coverage pre-existing conditions and had a lifetime maximum coverage limit.

So you support single payer where none of that exists?

Yep. We were promised it would save us money. Instead, healthcare care costs skyrocketed thanks to Obamacare.