[smileysteve]

For 1, because my private health insurance premiums had doubled (ignoring switching plans for new teaser rates) the years before the ACA was passed.

Anecdotally, when the ACA marketplace went live, and I purchased individually, my health insurance costs decreased for a year (no subsidy)

[KetoManx64]

Obamacare was talked about for YEARS before it was passed, I don't think it would be far fetched to imagine that the insurance companies started raising prices as soon as the topic started getting traction. It's a multi trillion dollar industry after all and they spend big $$$ on analysts to plan for the future.

Of course the price went down after Obamacare got passed. Can you imagine how much outrage there would have been if it had passed and everyone found out that it was going to cost them double or triple what they used to pay? The government took out some loans (using your future and your children's future taxes as collateral) and made sure they were lower. And then a year or two later when everyone stopped focusing on it and it had gotten normalized they stopped propping it up.

[ceejayoz]

https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-spe... - see the chart labeled "Total national health expenditures, US $ per capita, 1970-2022".

We've been seeing healthcare costs (and premiums, which largely have to match those) go up in pretty much a straight line since at least 1970.

[KetoManx64]

Thanks for the share. I imagine the costs has a high correlation with the American obeisity epidemic, which has continued to get worse and worse. Obamacare creates a disincentive for people to live and eat a healthy lifestyle. Why bother eating a good diet when you can just get health insurance anyways no matter your pre-existing conditions (be they natural, or much more likely, due to your lifestyle choices).

Eg: 90-95% of diabetes cases in the US are Type 2 (Lifestyle related)

[pixelatedindex]

I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say people are unhealthy because insurance is cheaper. The average person does not live in a way they want to harm themselves.

I would say it’s because most Americans don’t walk or bike much, food desserts are plenty, transit infrastructure sucks, overworking, and lack of time for vacation/self-care all contribute.

You are forced to have a job if you expect typical medical coverage, and making people do something they don’t want to do won’t incentivize them to take care of their health.