Obamacare went into effect not long before I retired. At the time, my coverage was provided by my employer and my wife's coverage, on the same plan, was paid by me, around $350/month. When I retired at the end of 2013, I opted to stay on my employer's plan, which was pretty good insurance, but I would pay the whole cost for my wife and I, which had increased to $500/month EACH. The following year, my employer changed carriers to a plan that would not cover my wife's insulin ($750/month) and you had no choice on who your doctor was, you went to their "clinic" and were seen by whoever was available.
We dropped that coverage and found our own private policy at BC/BS. It was $1250/month for both of us, but that was still cheaper than $1000/month plus $750/month for her insulin. We stayed with that until the end of 2018, when BC/BS left the private market in Georgia. The premiums had increased to $1700/month and BC/BS was the LAST private health insurance provider in the State. The "Obamacare" policies available on the market were limited to a State-run program designed for the Marketplace and the same insurer available through my employer that didn't cover the insulin. No doctors in my area would accept either.
At that point, we were uninsured and stayed that way until I went on Medicare in August, 2024. My wife goes on it in October. Meanwhile, we have stashed the $1700/month in our bank account, paying all health costs from it. During 2024, she had cataracts removed in both eyes and a bunch of dental work (root canals, crowns, etc.), which was paid for out of that account. There is still $30,000 in that account.
Back when Obamacare was being legislated, the left claimed that there were millions of uninsured people in the US. There still are!