Yep, you and your employer pay $3500/month for the premium. Then you as an individual have a $12k to $15k per year deductible before the insurance even kicks in.
That’s grossly exaggerated. Individual deductibles are limited by law to ~$6500 even on the worst plans. And no one is paying $3500 per month for individual coverage on one of those plans. The actual rates depend on age and zip code, but I’d be very surprised if they’re that high anywhere.
To see the actual costs for yourself, go to healthcare.gov. The “bronze” plans are the ones with high deductibles. If you’re young and healthy, a high-deductible plan combined with an HSA is a very good idea.
> Individual deductibles are limited by law to ~$6500 even on the worst plans
This was not the case for 2025, so I just did a search to determine whether you are referencing a new law. No, you are just flat wrong on this claim.
In Georgia (georgiaaccess.gov), the first bronze plan I looked at has an individual deductible of $10,600 (family deductible is $21,200). The plan's SBC is available to the public[1].
> no one is paying $3500 per month for individual coverage on one of those plans
You are correct, but also many people are not single and live in family units where the family unit is on the hook for $3,500 per month.
> Individual deductibles are limited by law to ~$6500 even on the worst plans.
Deductibles can be higher, but more importantly it's very important to undertand that "out of pocket maximum" does not mean the same thing to normal people vs the insurance companies.
One would think that a 10K/yr "out of pocket maximum" means in the worst case scenario you may have to pay 10K/yr and then insurance covers the rest. Which wouldn't be that bad.
If that were true the US wouldn't have the epidemic of people going bankrupt over medical costs.
What really happens is you get hit with a 200K bill from a hospital visit and the insurance company decides unilaterally they don't really feel like paying based on some obscure technicality, so then that amount does not count towards your "out of pocket maximum". So now you're on the hook for the 200K, good luck.
