The Affordable Care Act changes the rules of the individual insurance market. Insurers can no longer reject applicants, and can no longer charge higher premiums for those likely to incur above-average costs. Moreover, all policies must now cover a wider array of services than typically available in the individual market.That raises the cost of health insurance, and the money has to come from somewhere. The federal exchange subsidy only fills part of the hole, and only for some people. The rest is supposed to come from younger, healthier people whose premiums will be higher than their expected cost—and in many cases, substantially higher than they pay today.
