I can't answer all of your questions, but, hopefully, I'll shed a small amount of light on a few ...
News about ACA being repealed does not help my confidence - while MA will probably still have their version of the ACA- will it be affected? the subsidies would go away?
I'm not good at predicting the future. Even if MA (my home state) reverts back to a system similar to "RomneyCare" I wouldn't count on subsidies. What subsidies would remain would likely be calculated differently than they are under the ACA. We were residents here when Romney's plan was signed into law but we had not, yet, retired, so I have no memory of the details of any subsidies that may have been available. There was no exchange under the state law and we still had to join an organization in order to get health insurance for us while we were operating our business.
Does anyone have experience with how to use the MAHealthConnector website for quotes? It asks you to Apply and create an ID. without doing that, I only got as far as it telling me: Health Connector Plans: “You can shop for coverage from leading insurance companies in MA…..Premiums and costs will depend on the plans Metallic tier coverage level”
I will create an ID and just see what I get… are there any things I should consider when looking? If I enter in all this info and shop around, I want to be sure I do not inadvertently commit to something by mistake- is it easy to cancel/back out?
Unfortunately, yes, you will have to create an account to get the type of information you are seeking. I am quite disappointed with the way the website operates. There should be a way to poke around and see what's available without having to create an account and submit an application. On the bright side ... it is vastly improved over the initial rollout.
Don't worry about inadvertently buying insurance. It's quite clear when you get to that point. In order to get real, hard data, you will have to supply a lot of identification and income information and submit an application. It may feel like you are committing to something at that point, but it can be changed and resubmitted at a future date.
Should I be shopping on Healthcare.gov?
You can't. The last time I tried to do this to see what would happen, it sent me directly to MAHealthConnector.gov as soon as I told them I lived in Massachusetts.
Anyone who can share tips, what your costs are and type of plan you have?
Have you already FIRE’d - any considerations with Healthcare?
One thing to be aware of, depending on where your income falls, the decision as to what you qualify for may not be made instantaneously on the website. Sometimes that must be made outside the system and you must wait for a letter to arrive in the mail. Until they make the determination, your account will be locked. Phone calls sometimes help to move things along. This determination happens after you submit your application.
If you are thinking of creating multiple ID's to look at different scenarios, they won't allow that either. Not even one ID for each spouse.
It can get a little frustrating. Best of luck to you.