Opinion: Obamacare exchanges help, but confused consumers are still spending too much

Former CIGNA executive-turned-whistleblower Wendell Potter is writing about the health care industry and the ongoing battle for health reform for the Center for Public Integrity.

Here’s the good news: 74 percent of people nationwide who enrolled in health insurance plans through the Obamacare exchanges rate their coverage as excellent or good. That’s according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last Thursday.

Here’s the not so good news: There’s a better than even chance that many of those folks did not pick the plan that is best suited to their needs. As a consequence, they very likely will be paying more in premiums or out-of-pocket costs — or both — because their health-plan picking skills leave a lot to be desired. That’s according to a study published earlier this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Unfortunately for those folks, they’ll keep paying more than they should. And they’ll not have a clue that they could be saving quite a bit of cash if they had the ability or took the time to become better insurance shoppers. That’s according to both organizations.

See the complete story at CT News Junkie.