>Its value is not to reimburse you for routine visits or minor procedures, it's to prevent you from going bankrupt if you get cancer or any similarly expensive

>Its value is not to reimburse you for routine visits or minor procedures, it's to prevent you from going bankrupt if you get cancer or any similarly expensive condition to treat. Notice the parenthetical where I said it's not only insurance. Clearly the value of most health insurance plans isn't only to cover catastrophic illnesses. Look at the difference in cost between catastrophic illness plans or a very high deductible plan and the cost of a more traditional plan. A huge chunk of your premium and therefore a huge chunk of the value is to pay for routine and less than catastrophic medical costs.