Keep in mind that there are different kinds of private health insurance, and american system is one of many. I live in Argentina right now. I pay about $150 per

Keep in mind that there are different kinds of private health insurance, and american system is one of many. I live in Argentina right now. I pay about $150 per month for insurance (which is pretty expensive by local standards). They operate their own hospital, which is about 15 minutes from my home by car. I buy medicine with 50% discount, which already makes the insurance pay for itself. I don't have to search for doctors, I just open an app (or website, or call them) and make an appointment, almost all of them work in the same hospital building. My girlfriend had to use an ambulance, and now is prepping for surgery — of course, all of that is completely covered. Oh, and all the doctors give your their email or WhatsApp so you can follow up and ask them stuff anytime. I lived in Russia before, and I've had even better experience. I don't remember how much I paid (on the same order of magnitude), but home visits costed me may be around $20 a pop. (Personally, I'm buffled why more health systems around the globe don't have home visits, I'd gladly pay a reasonable extra fee). I've also used private health insurance subscription when I lived in Israel and had to see doctors in Turkey, Georgia, Serbia and Peru, paying out of pocket; in all these instances, prices were reasonable and the whole system very nice to interact with. For instance, in Georgia, my ex had to ride an ambulance and spend week in a hospital. The whole thing cost me around $300 out of pocket. Anyway, in any of these systems where I had a subscription, I've never had to pay and then file a claim; doctors were employees of the organisation that I paid my insurance to. Public health insurance, on the other hand, have always been an abysmal experience, with doctors and nurses not giving f about you. It was more expensive, too: you had to bribe people so that they actually did their jobs, and it didn't improve their attitude much. Nobody in that system has any incentives to help you. And, of course, it's much more expensive in the end.