Ken Warner

And this is supposed to be meant for our 60s or 70s or 80s.

Ken Warner and Parveen Vora are in their mid-50s and live in Manchester, Connecticut.

They're self-employed and use the ACA for health coverage.

Last year, they had to drain one of their two small retirement accounts.

We needed a new roof and a new boiler in the same year of the surgery.

Now they're wondering how they can pay for surgery on Vora's other eye and Warner's other hip and eyeing the retirement account that's left.

They say they feel stuck in a broken system, with healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs only getting more expensive each year.

Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News.

Ken Warner lives in Connecticut.

He and his wife are both self-employed and use the Affordable Care Act for their health plan.

This year, after the enhanced subsidies expired, their premium costs exploded.

But Warner says he and his wife have health concerns and wanted to make sure they had coverage.

They couldn't wait for Congress or their state, which is offering to replace some of the subsidies.

So he paid $2,500 for January.

He's hoping he can find a job with benefits or Congress can make a deal so they don't have to pay that premium all year.

Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington.