That's a terrible example, and generally not much of your post is true. Most people aren't actively paying for the ACA through taxes, only the richest 20% of americans (>281k /year) src, and in fact it saved many Americans money even without pre-existing conditions. Plus the ACA has saved many lives.
The cost and concessions made to pass it are more a reflection of how awful capitalism and the american healthcare system are. Those companies were always going to make record profits regardless of whether the ACA passed or not, just like many other companies, and you always foot the bill for the uninsured/underinsured anyway through other methods like ER visits and cascading illness through inability to pay for services. You also pay for them when they have medical emergencies and file for bankruptcy and when they become homeless because of medical issues or the payment of medical goods and services.
Also remember, many democrats were pushing for single-payer which would've skirted most of this by expanding medicare and forcing insurance companies to compete.