Millions of Americans will get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act that will protect them from potentially ruinous medical expenses, but a USA TODAY analysis yesterday shows that the health plans they can choose still leave them vulnerable to thousands in deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs each year. Medical insurance deductibles for plans on the federal exchange covering 34 states average $3,000, and those for the least expensive, bronze-level plans average $5,082, according to the USA TODAY analysis of deductible data for HealthCare.gov. Even relatively modest cost sharing can prove unaffordable because expenses are often unexpected, and most Americans have less than $3,000 to cover such costs, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation report on medical debt among the insured concludes.
