I actually heard a depressing bit of analysis about some of the unintended consequences of the health insurance roll-out under Obamacare. Health insurance providers weren't sure how price conscious the new consumers would be -- historically, people picked an insurance plan or were provided it by their employers and rarely did they change it. But with the marketplaces people have jumped all over. In fact, over 43% of (newly insured) customers have changed their insurance provider since the roll-out, oftentimes over the difference of tens of dollars a month in premiums, even less. This despite the former plan maybe having more convenient doctor's locations, lower deductibles, etc. None of that is as consumer-behaviorally relevant as the monthly premium.

One of the consequences of that? Long-term health programs administered by doctors and health providers are being cut. For example: Even though quitting smoking or exercising regularly are some of the best things you can do for your health, it requires a regular check-in with a doctor to manage and track progress over a lifetime. But insurance companies don't want to pay for those programs because, even though they save money in the long run (through improving health conditions, but money is the main issue for these companies), those savings will be passed on to other health insurance companies that offer slightly lower rates because people continue to switch plans over seemingly negligible amounts of money.