We're on the winning side of this one. I haven't figured out exactly which plan we'll go with yet, because there's a question I want an answer to first, but we'll be saving between $400-600/mo on our premiums with lower deductibles and co-insurance cost. But we didn't have an employer subsidized plan that has only charged modest year-over-year increases; we were on our own and our premiums have gone up by double-digit percentages more years than not over the last decade.
Prior to the exchanges, we'd have to spend more than 25% of our household income between premiums and deductibles before our insurance paid a single dime. Now an absolute worst-case year, hitting our OOP max, would be around 20% of our income. ETA: That is before the still largely unknown factor of the "cost sharing" that is meant to reduce OOP costs for those at/below 250% FPL. I didn't realize we'd qualify, and that's the area in which I want some questions answered before I choose a plan for my family.