I thought that this was a reasonable way to think about health insurance until the time I ended up in a random ER "through no fault of my own", and after spendi

I thought that this was a reasonable way to think about health insurance until the time I ended up in a random ER "through no fault of my own", and after spending several months watching bills roll in and learning just how skillful an insurance company can be at accomplishing their primary job, which is to avoid paying for health care, found that the impact of an enormous unexpected expense you cannot possibly afford is not substantially lessened by the knowledge that it could have been worse. There is a corollary to the law of diminishing marginal utility here. If having health insurance actually meant I didn't have to worry about the impact of future unexpected disasters, then the incredible monthly cost might seem worthwhile; but all it's going to do is push the threshold of disaster upward, so I'd rather manage risk by maximizing flexibility and keep the cash in my pocket instead.