I ERed in late 2008, just before that year's election. While I had lined up an affordable individual plan here in New York (hardly a friendly state for those in that market back then), I didn't count on its premiums rising 50% in the next 2 years.
But the ACA had been passed, thankfully, in those 2 years, so I knew all I had to do was hang in there until the end of 2013 when the exchanges would come into being. In the meantime, I switched to an inexpensive, bare-bones, hospital-only policy which left me underinsured. And I had to stay healthy from mid-2011 (when I switched policies) through the end of 2013.
I stayed healthy and gladly bought an exchange ACA Silver plan for 2014, ending my 2+ years of being underinsured. And the premiums were lower than what I was paying in 2009. When I got sick in 2015, I had a decent policy which kept me from being financially hurt and got me well again.
I am not too concerned about the premium subsidy because I qualify for only a small one, only a few hundred dollars per year. And here in New York, while the premiums are pretty high compared to the rest of the country, the individual market is quite stable with many insurers to pick from throughout the state.
With my being a few days short of turning 54, I am 11 years and a few days short of going on Medicare. But I have made it through 8 years of ER so far, having had the good fortune of getting sick when I had good health insurance.