Health insurance hasn’t been health “insurance” for years. Take it from someone who has worked in the medical billing field for almost 20 years. It is now, who can pay my bill.
I don’t completely agree with you.
For example, I save money on my homeowners insurance by putting in smoke detectors and deadbolt locks. So, in a sense, my “insurance” paid for that, by giving me a discount.
Likewise, my health insurance gives me a “discount” in the form of paying for routine preventative care, because it lessens their risk of having to pay on a major problem. But mostly, my health insurance pays only for things related to adverse medical conditions.
They don’t pay for my vitamins, or for my gym membership. They pay for things related to medical problems.
Now, my eye “insurance” is really not insurance, it’s more of an eye-care payment plan, which just gives me increasingly smaller discounts on my yearly exams and glasses.
My dental is still pretty much insurance, except for the orthodontic care, for which I can simply choose the more expensive dental plan the year before my kids get old enough to need orthodontics, and then stop paying for it when they are done.
Now, there is (and maybe this is what you mean) a large component of the “health insurance” industry that isn’t about paying for treatment, but instead is about negotiating reduced prices for the treatment. In that regard, the insurance you buy isn’t just about getting coverage for illness, but paying someone who can get you a discount on the costs.