This WSJ editorial on The Slow Motion Implosion of Obamacare is worth your time. It details the practical realities of why enrollments have stalled and the ACA is not living up to its promises. Surprise, surprise!.
Meanwhile, in the real world, we just marketed two 12/1 renewals for groups under 50 that told an interesting tale.
One group had switched to a "level-funded" plan to avoid the forced community-rating it would have had to take as a small group carrier. So, it still gets the benefit of having its own underwriting. It was a rough claims year, and the renewal offer was in the neighborhood of 20%. That is a large increase. However, the ACA community rated plans would require 100% to 120% increase in premiums. That is some savings!
The other group is still maintaining its "transitional" plan (you know, the one that they liked that the President promised they could keep). They received .06% renewal increase. The ACA community-rated plans were all in excess of 40%.
One thing is clear. Obamacare is NOT affordable.