Commonwealth received input from 4,400 adults who had experience with either public market insurance or employer-sponsored coverage. The study looked at those with exchange coverage experience separately and compared their responses with those who have employer coverage.

Among the findings from those who bought coverage via the public exchanges:

• 68 percent are happy with their coverage;
• 61 percent of adults paying premiums for health insurance purchased through the exchanges find it "very or somewhat easy to afford them;"
• 70 percent are confident they will be able to get the health care they need;
• 71 percent are confident they will get high-quality care.

However, the survey found that the actual purchasing experience wasn't so great, with Commonwealth reporting that "62 percent of adults who visited the marketplace rated their overall experience as fair or poor."

But the coverage concept was well designed, especially for low-income buyers.

"Premium and cost-sharing subsidies offered through the marketplaces appear to be working: more than two-thirds of adults with low or moderate incomes (under $28,725 for an individual) paid less than $125 a month in premiums for a single marketplace policy, similar to what adults in employer plans paid," the report said. 

Similarities existed with respect to deductibles in that income range for those with public exchange coverage and those with employer-sponsored coverage.

In the higher income brackets, 54 percent said they could fairly easily afford exchange coverage, compared to 79 percent of those with company coverage.

"The survey findings show that people with lower incomes are finding health insurance coverage through the marketplaces that is comparable to employer plans in affordability and cost-protection," said Sara Collins, Commonwealth Fund vice president for health care coverage and access, and a co-author of the report. "The subsidies are doing what they were designed to do — make comprehensive coverage attainable for low- and moderate-income families without employer-based health insurance."

The report said its results showed that "consumers' experiences in the marketplaces improved over time." Among other findings that compared the latest results with those from October 2013:

• 57 percent said it was easy to compare premium costs, up from 37 percent;
• 47 percent of shoppers said it was easy to compare plans by benefits offered, up from 30 percent;
• 48 percent said it was easy to compare plans based on potential out-of-pocket costs, up from 34 percent;
• 46 percent of exchange shoppers reported it was easy to find plans with the coverage they needed, up from 38 percent;
• 43 percent said it was easy to find an affordable plan, up from 30 percent in October 2013 who said it was easy to find a plan they could afford.