Despite that exemption, Bremer says there are people who may have qualified for some financial assistance on the marketplace but still would have struggled to pay for coverage.

“The people who seem like they get the best deal are the people who are very, very low-income,” Bremer said. “It’s the people in the upper range who are having the hardest struggle.”

She’s talking about the upper range of the sliding scale of financial assistance given to consumers who shop on HealthCare.gov.

Consumers are eligible for financial assistance between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

An individual in Missouri making between $11,880 and $47,520 currently qualifies for help purchasing coverage. Individuals making closer to $11,880 receive more help than the folks making closer to $47,520.

But it’s the individuals making 300 percent to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or individuals making between $35,000 and $47,520, who seem to be struggling, Bremer said.

Those individuals — the ones who don’t qualify for as much government assistance — don’t appear to be getting coverage to the same degree as others, said Linda Blumberg, a health care economist with the Urban Institute.