If you have a high paying job in the US it usually comes with legitimate health insurance paid for by your employer, meaning most of the cost of most healthcare is covered.

If you don’t you pay a lot. Before ACA non-group plans generally didn’t cover any health conditions that predated your coverage.

ACA was just good enough to cool down demands for a true public health plan while also being just shitty enough to turn everyone else off to ever wanting one. Essentially the perfect way to prevent a public option for generations.