I hate that "number of insured" is considered a metric of success. For example, the small manufacturing company I work for employs about fifteen people. Prior to passage of the ACA, it offered an HRA (Health Reimbursement Account) plan. This plan was tax deductible to the company and tax free to the employees. Each employee received $250/month to spend on whatever medical needs they had. They could use it to buy insurance, pay for any medical expenses, dental expenses, vision expenses, even OTC drugs. They were technically uninsured though if they chose not to use the money to buy insurance, which many didn't because they are young. The most common situation involved the employees buying accident and cancer policies for big issues and using the balance for day to day needs. The money rolled forward year to year so some employees had over $5000 in their accounts.
After passage of the ACA, the HRA plan was no longer considered tax deductible to the company. The company now offers a platinum level BCBS plan and pays for 100% of the employee cost. Even at the platinum level the deductible is $1000 with a $20 copay. Dental and vision coverage are offered for an additional fee. Are the employees better off now since they are now insured? I guess they are if they get cancer at 30 years old. For the average employee, I'd say not so much. However, under the insured metric it's considered a victory. For me the biggest winner in this scenario is the insurance company.
