Thinking of opting out of my company's health insurance plan
Some background:
My plan isn't actually all that bad. No deductible if you stay in network and $2000 if you go out. All preventative care and doctors visits covered 100% in network, and 80% out and the deductible doesn't apply. (Only need to worry about it for hospital stays and out-patient surgery.) My company picks up 65% of the premium, so it's heavily subsidized. We elect family coverage that covers my husband, me and the kids.
My husband owns his own small company (5 employees including himself). He offers health insurance, but it's expensive and less comprehensive, since his small company's buying power is so much less than where I work.
That said, it's looking like the prices he can get through the exchanges as a small employer are pretty equivalent to what my company can negotiate. He is going to be able to offer a second plan to his tiny workforce that is similar to what I get and he'll be able to offer lower premiums all around. (The average annual salary he offers is too high to qualify for tax credits, so this price reduction is completely based on the buying power he gets through the exchanges.)
So here's the debate at home around the dinner table...
If we can get comparable insurance coverage, we'd pay more for it ourselves because we lose my company's subsidy. However, we'd pick up a lot more flexibility and at least our health coverage is in our hands. I won't have to worry that losing my job means losing my insurance. I really like the idea of taking insurance out of the employment equation all together for a few reasons. It takes one tool of control away from the company, which gives me more freedom to act. On a less ideological front, it means that I have more control over my plan, my network and my doctors than I did previously. I don't have to worry about switching my gynecologist because my company decided to switch from Aetna to Oxford or some such.
And the fact that we are even having this discussion leads me to hope that more people will get a taste of freedom and want to decouple insurance and employment once and for all. it makes the idea of single payer a lot less scary.
I think we will probably keep my insurance because it is cheaper, but it's nice knowing there is a very viable alternative. If I lose my job it's considered a "life event" and we can switch onto our own plan. And I suspect if that happens we may not switch back.
= new reply since forum marked as read
It's a little terrifying to have a preexisting that needs follow-up care and not get it. Those little things can definitely get out of hand. I'm on the 'scared to death' side of that discussion. 
Good news about your husband's company, as well! I wish the small business owners in this town were as optimistic. They're whiny as hell here. Of course, not one of them has bothered to put in the effort to learn about the ACA. All that effort is reserved for tantrums.
