ACA also greatly increased costs. As an entrepreneur at the time, insurance premiums increased 25% overnight for the same plan. Many people had similar experiences.

That the ACA forced a large number of people to pay a lot more for literally the same product is not a good outcome for those people. Too many people try to pretend this didn't happen.

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tptacek a day ago | parent | next [-]

No it didn't. The ACA slowed cost growth, which was already skyrocketing by the time it passed.

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peezd a day ago | parent | next [-]

You are both sort of right and wrong; based on a quick analysis, knowing this isn't perfect due to how plans have different characteristics, and states had different characteristics..

in the 2000s (pre ACA); * Employer plans averages 6-10% increase per year * Individual plans averages 10-15% increase per year

Rollout (2010-2017) * Employer plans averaged 3-5% increase per year * Individual plans averages 0-10% the first couple of years, but spiked hard to 25%+ from 2016-2018.. with lots of volatility (one stat I found shows 130% increase between 2013-2019)

Post (2018 to today) * Employer Plans averages 4-6% increase per year * Individual plans were generally stable but with huge volatility; also expansion of gov't subsidies absorbed much of the increases for those earning up to 400% of fed poverty level

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jandrewrogers a day ago | parent | prev [-]

The sharp discontinuity in insurance costs over a single year for many people when ACA went into effect isn't explained by your dismissal.

	▲	tptacek a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		All the stories I've heard about that came from people with bad insurance (for instance: insurance programs that could rescind coverage if you were diagnosed with something serious, and that functioned mostly as billing processors for routine care, which is where ~none of the expense in the system is). The ACA did effectively regulate those plans out of existence, so if you had one, and relied on it, it raised your cost. But when we talk about the ACA's impact on cost, we're always talking in a macro sense. Every program has individual winners and losers.
	▲	cyberax a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Insurance prices _dropped_ in NY after the ACA was enacted. Not "slowed down the growth" but actually dropped in absolute numbers. That's because NY had enacted a coverage mandate even before the ACA, so insurance companies were forced to offer policies to everyone. This resulted in a runaway spiral where only sick people were getting insurance. The ACA forced all large employers to buy insurance, greatly increasing the risk pool.

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nradov a day ago | parent | prev [-]

I don't believe you. It wasn't the "same plan". I guarantee that the plan you had before the ACA had a lifetime benefit limit, perhaps as low as $1M. Read the fine print. A single complex episode of care could easily blow past that limit and leave the plan member functionally uninsured.