What Stephanie soon discovered, she told me in mid-November, “was a godsend.” The business that she and her husband had launched–which sells a product that enables consumers to store their DNA or that of family members for future genetic testing–had recently received investor interest after being featured on an episode of the television series CSI. So she estimated to Cohen that their income would be about $90,000 in 2014. But even at that level, her family of four would qualify for a subsidy under Obamacare.

The Recchis and their agent soon zeroed in on a plan with a $793 monthly premium that provided full coverage, though with a deductible of $12,000 for the entire family, meaning the Recchis would pay the first $12,000 in expenses. After the deductible was reached, there would be no co-payments for anything, including all drugs. However, the Obamacare subsidy, assuming a $90,000 income, brought their cost down to $566 a month. If their income was the same $40,000 Stephanie had estimated for 2013, the subsidy would increase and their premium would be just $17 a month.

“They had budgeted insurance at $1,200 for each of them for their new business,” says Cohen. “That’s $2,400 for the two of them, compared to $566, so they were thrilled … They had seen all those stories on television, and because of their views about Obama, they believed what they wanted to believe–until they saw these policies and these numbers.”