As a young adult, I was much more conservative than I am now. I still lean right, but with regard to healthcare I completely agree with the liberals. That said, I don't see how the ACA really accomplished what needed to happen. Forcing everyone to buy insurance from for profit providers doesn't make sense, it just gives more power to the insurance companies.
The US spends 17.7% of it's GDP on healthcare costs. The second highest country in the world is the Netherlands, at 11.9%. This is a difference of 5.8% of our entire GDP, which is roughly a trillion dollars. The system is broken. A tweak (like the ACA) isn't going to solve the problem.
My belief is that some of the problem lies in the fact that people don't realize how much they are actually paying for healthcare. Most people get this through their employer. I have a high deductible plan that I pay $320 a pay period for. My employer kicks in $705 a pay period (a contribution many people forget about). If they weren't making this contribution, that money could be in my wallet! That's $1,025 per PAY PERIOD or $26,650 a year for health insurance for me and my family of 4. Meanwhile, my deductible is $8,000. Unless my family has some major accidents during the year, I'm NEVER going to hit that deductible amount (I haven't surpassed $4,000 in any of the past 3 years).
In other words, I'm paying $26,000+ a year for insurance that I will likely never use. This year, my wife and I have been paying for doctors visits in cash since they will give you a better deal if they don't have to go through your insurance company.
Universal healthcare would solve many of these problems. I would be fine with a 5% increase in tax rates if it meant universal care. The average family of 4 makes $60,000 in this country. A 5% increase in taxes would be $3,000 more in taxes for the average family(realize that I now pay $26,000 + for crappy coverage). I know the 1%-ers will end up paying more, but for most of America, they would save a TON by this method.
I'm not sure why people (even republicans) are so afraid of this concept. We already pay (with tax dollars) for healthcare for much of the country. Veterans, impoverished, elderly, Native Americans, Active Military, etc. Our tax dollars are already paying for many of these people to receive care. Might as well throw the rest of us into the mix as well and save the average American TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars every year.