Our history does show that we think health insurance is extremely important. So much so that most people take pay cuts to have good insurance. So far, we’ve worked it through employment, our employer subsidizes our health insurance, generally paying 1/2 to 2/3 of cost. It helps because employers can get it at a reduced cost because they guarantee that their employees will use that insurance. That gives them the ability to lower overall salary costs. It works for the employees because they can get insurance at an affordable price (which is generally 1/3 of what they’d pay on their own). It’s worth giving up a bit of salary for guaranteed health insurance (can’t be turned down due to chronic illness or age, etc…).
This worked fine for decades, but it’s gotten so bulky and regulation so haphazard that it’s currently untenable. But still, people expect affordable health insurance and even through employer paid insurance, too many things aren’t covered. I have two separate insurance policies and still pay out $1000+ per month for my various health needs. It just kept gradually rising over a few years. So, now I pay more for my insurance and get less.