My employer pays $12,000 a year for my family's health insurance; on exchange, it's $4,634 [View all]

[fried eggs]

I checked the subsidy calculator to see what I would be paying if I did not have insurance. Here were the results:

The information below is about subsidized exchange coverage. Note that subsidies are only available for people purchasing coverage on their own in the exchange (not through an employer). Depending on your state's eligibility criteria, you or some members of your family may qualify for Medicaid.

Household income in 2014: 371% of poverty level

Unsubsidized annual health insurance premium in 2014: $4,634

Maximum % of income you have to pay for the non-tobacco premium, if eligible for a subsidy: 9.5%

Amount you pay for the premium: $4,634 per year (which equals 8.05% of your household income and covers 100% of the overall premium)

You could receive a government tax credit subsidy of up to: $0 (which covers 0% of the overall premium)

The premium and subsidy amounts above are based on a Silver plan. You have the option to apply the subsidy toward the purchase of other levels of coverage, such as a Gold plan (which would be more comprehensive) or a Bronze plan (which would be less comprehensive).

Calculator: http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

I'm not sure if it's an apples to apples comparison. I suspect my current insurance is similar to a gold plan. Still, if I were a small business, I would send my employees to the exchange in a heartbeat. Or pay the fine of $3000, which is considerably less than $12,000. I think we're closer to single payer than a lot of people here think. Isn't that a good thing?