Obamacare at a premium

Many people enrolled in health-care coverage via Covered California, the state's health-insurance exchange through the Affordable Care Act, find it difficult to pay for their monthly premiums, a survey finds.

Of 4,555 respondents in the Kaiser Family Foundation's survey from September to December last year, 44 percent said it's somewhat or very difficult to afford their premiums, compared to 25 percent of people with private or employer-provided insurance having similar difficulties, according to the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, many experts are predicting greater premium increases for next year.

Peter Lee (pictured), executive director of Covered California, acknowledged that paying for health-care coverage can be hard to manage for many households.

“If you're making $25,000 a year, that $70 premium is still a struggle,” he said. “The Affordable Care Act is providing nobody with a free lunch. This issue of making health care affordable is not easy.”