There’s a lot of uncertainty around health insurance these days,what with partisan back and forth and unsuccessful repeal-and-replace attempts, evenas the popularity of the ACA increases.

And one indication of that popularity could be that consumers are growing more confident shoppingfor their health insurance online. That’s according to a five-yearconsumer research study by health enrollment software companyConnecture Inc.

According to a new report, the change in consumer opinion andbehavior from before and after the ACA took effect indicates thatnot only are more people shopping online for coverage — up from 14percent in 2012 to 42 percent in 2017 — but also that they’regetting more confident as they do so.

In fact, 56 percent say they’re comfortable shopping bythemselves with little or no assistance from friends or family.Back in 2012, only 37 percent said so. In addition, four times asmany are using online tools to shop for group oremployer-sponsored insurance: 38 percent in 2017, compared to 9.5percent five years ago.

Meanwhile, 81 percent of customers at companies with 500 or moreemployees enrolled online, compared with 52 percent at companieswith fewer than 500 employees. The study also indicates that thosewho enroll online are more engaged in the decision making processcompared with those who enroll on paper, and are also moreinterested in ancillary benefits, such as dental, vision andlife insurance.

But that doesn’t mean they’re taking a lot of time to carefullyresearch the offerings or even pay attention to premiums. Amongthose with employer-sponsored insurance, 59 percent said theywouldn’t spend more than one hour to research and choose theirhealth plan; nearly 50 percent said they’re not sure what they payin health care costs each month.

But more are pleased with the benefit options their employersoffer, with 34 percent feeling “extremely satisfied” in 2017, upfrom just 22 percent in 2012.