audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
YepI could construct situations where silver barely wins, even without eligibility for cost sharing. But those were rather uncommon cases, and in almost all situations, bronze would still win. And I don't see how Gold or Platinum would ever "win", at least not based on the plans available to me -- and even less so since they are not HSA-eligible like the Bronze and Silver plans can be (which also lets you reduce your MAGI and potentially increase your tax credits).
Of course, if you have income below 250% of FPL and cost sharing kicks in, Silver looks better.
I think the gold and silver plans mimic what employers used to pay for an ER when they were working, so someone may consider them first. But if someone is paying their own premiums, they get to see how very pricey those benefits can be.