> There's no reason insurance companies need to be involved in health care at all. There are a very many good reasons to have insurance for health care expense

> There's no reason insurance companies need to be involved in health care at all. There are a very many good reasons to have insurance for health care expenses, in fact they are the perfect example of where insuring for the average cost helps those who see orders of magnitude larger costs due to black swan events that would otherwise ruin them. Another interesting stat showing how important health insurance is; 5% of policyholders are responsible for 95% of total costs. Now you can argue that you think a national, government run, single payer insurance company would be more efficient, or more fair, or result in better health outcomes, or... but that’s an argument for a different kind of insurance company. It doesn’t change the fact that there is an insurance company very directly and intimately involved in your health care.