>>>The only reason we still have our plan is that, under the ACA, current plans are grandfathered in until they expire in 2014. Our policy was supposed to expire on January 31, 2014. The only way that we could continue to get our current coverage until the mess that is the ACA has shaken out, was to renew the policy effective 12/1/2013. That way, we maintain our current coverage until the end of 2014.
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>Glad you managed to keep a plan you want that does not meet the required minimums under the Act. The good news is that by the end of 2014 the cap on super-profits will have cut in and you may be surprised what will be available.
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>>>It is amazing to me that you seem to know everything there is to know about the ACA and how private insurance will be affected by it when the insurance companies here don't even know that yet. Boy, I sure wish that I knew everything like you do...
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>I am not the one making grand declarations of success or failure for the ACA. It may well fail as some insist it already has, but in 2013 it's too early to say. Certainly worthwhile checking anecdote of disadvantage, but so far the examples fall flat. Seems curious that despite reporting hundreds of thousands of policy resilements, the media has not been able to wheel out a single real-life victim whose policy was canned and there really is nothing affordable to replace it. I have seen 17 complaints that all turn out to have cheaper options with approximately equivalent and usually better deductibles. So it's all vicarious grievance so far. Unfortunately the tendency is to throw serious allegations out there and then go quiet. For example, consider the allegation that the White House was bullying insurers to shut up. A serious allegation- so why nothing more about it?

David Brooks, an opponent of the ACA, but generally a fair-minded guy with good sources, said last night on PBS that about 5% of existing policyholders will be forced to make a change because:
A- the insurer has opted not to bring the plan up to ACA minimum standards
B- the insurer brought it up to minimum standards and the insured didn't like the premium increase.
He added that it's still not clear whether these 5% will or will not be able to replace the existing plan with a more affordable plan with more benefits as the exchanges get rolling.
His point was that if they do get better coverage for less money then the ACA is a success, and vice versa.
I agree that will be a key pass/fail test of the ACA.
There are other ingredients, though, such as cost controls (AKA Death Panels), subsidies and Medicaid expansion that might be equally important in the long run.