That's atrocious. We're in Michigan and only pay $798/mo for a $1,500 individual /$3,000 family PPO through HAP for my wife and I. Individual deductible for ACA plans is limited to $6,600 individual and $13,200 family, so you may want to shop around for a new plan during open enrollment this year.
The deductible cap is only applicable to plans purchased through a health care exchange. He is likely on a family plan and purchased his insurance individually. similar ACA coverage would certainly carry a lower yearly deductible, however would likely double his monthly premiums. This was the case for me on my individual plan.
If he has a healthy family who does not need coverage outside of basic physicals, then its likely he purchased this plan to only cover catastrophic events, I know I would rather purchase the $500/m with 23k deductible rather then the $1000/m 13k deductible if I only planned on using coverage in the event of a horrible catastrophe.
