After paying for his Obamacare plan, as well as his Social Security and Medicare withholding, "we then get to start paying income tax on the roughly 70 percent that remains. Then state and local taxes, and, finally, we can live on Ramen noodles after the mortgage, utilities and other living expenses. Is this a great system or what?" Broyles said.



Broyles' annual income is about $100,000, which means he earns too much to qualify for a federal tax credit to reduce his monthly premium payments. But even people who get those subsidies can feel sticker shock.

Tom Thomas, a 62-year-old retiree from Ohio, said he was "pretty damn upset" to learn that his current Obamacare plan costs, if he had re-enrolled for 2016, would have risen from $68 per month to $252 per month after his subsidy.

Even after he switched plans to a cheaper option, Thomas will be paying $179 per month after his subsidy in 2016. His annual cost, from just premiums alone, will be more than 8 percent of his annual income of $24,000.

"Ouch!" he said.

Insurers are sensitive to such concerns. The New York-based insurer Oscar, which was started up to take advantage of the Obamacare market, just introduced a "Help Me Choose My Plan" feature on its website. The feature asks consumers four questions about their use of specialists, chronic conditions, plans for medical procedures and prescription drug use, and then presents plan options.

Mario Schlosser, CEO and co-founder of Oscar, said the tool was designed to deal with the "difficult and often overwhelming task" of predicting the "variables of your future health needs."

Oscar wanted the tool to help consumers "minimize their out-of-pocket costs," Schlosser said. It also is part of its attempt to provide customers with "a simple, transparent experience" so they will continue choosing Oscar, he said.