Marguerite Moniot felt frustrated and flummoxed, despite the many hours she spent in front of the computer this year reading consumer reviews of health insurance plans offered on the individual market in Virginia. Moniot was preparing to buy a policy of her own, knowing she would age out of her parent's plan when she turned 26 in October.

She asked her parents for help and advice. But they, too, ran into trouble trying to decipher which policy would work best for their daughter. The family had relied on her father's employer-sponsored plan through his work as an architect for years, so no one had spent much time sifting through policies.

"Honestly, my parents were just as confused as I was," said Moniot, a restaurant server in Roanoke.