Are Marketplace Plans Affordable? Consumer Perspectives from the Commonwealth Fund Affordable Care Act Tracking Survey

Most employers who provide health insurance to employees subsidize their premiums and provide a comprehensive benefit package. Before the ACA, people who lacked health insurance through a job and purchased it on their own paid the full cost of their plans, which often came with more limited benefits and higher deductibles. Findings from The Commonwealth Fund Affordable Care Act Tracking Survey, March–May 2015, indicate that the law’s tax credits have made premium costs in health plans sold through the marketplaces roughly comparable to employer plans, at least for people with low and moderate incomes.