> ACA did increase costs as insurance companies couldn’t suddenly refuse service because they are actually sick

Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. What the ACA did was ensure insurance companies have captive customers. A plan with a $6500 deductible vs pay a fine, nonsense. I should be free to choose between the plan or no fine. If it's all sick people in the plan pool because healthy people opted-out, that's the insurance company's problem, not mine.

Now that the individual mandate is gone, we can watch the deductibles climb ever higher and push people out of insurance.

For many people $6500 might as well be $50k.

I would support a full repeal of ACA and replacement with government payer for all, so long as private insurance is not outlawed and can go back to pre ACA form (I'd like to see more changes, but that's a starting point).