This means it doesn't cover things like 'seeing a doctor' or 'getting antibiotics for a lung infection', which is why I need to cut a check to the urgent care c

This means it doesn't cover things like 'seeing a doctor' or 'getting antibiotics for a lung infection', which is why I need to cut a check to the urgent care center I visited a few months ago when I was in-country. My admittedly unpopular opinion is that that's exactly what health insurance should be. It should protect you from major unexpected expenses, and you should take care of minor expenses yourself. That's how insurance works for everything else: you don't expect your auto policy to cover oil changes or minor dents, or your homeowner's policy to pay if you accidentally break a plate. If you have an expensive preexisting medical condition that you can't afford to pay for (which unfortunately often includes "being old"), what you need is subsidized care, not "insurance".