Well, having all that is a little inefficient (if nothing else because they each have to have office supplies with their own letterhead), but that’s how it works. Americans are very libertarian. We believe overall in the power of the success of the individual, and if you aren’t making your way in the world, it is because you weren’t smart enough or didn’t work hard enough. So we have a system where you get health care if you’ve earned it (although that has morphed into having gotten a job in a large enough corporation that it can leverage a reasonable deal with an insurer so that they and you together can pay a premium that you both will be okay with for a level of service that you’re okay with). If you aren’t making your way in the world, well too bad for you, no healthcare… except if your elderly (bad p.r.), or veterans (they risked their lives for the nation, but have no health coverage? congress won’t let that stand…during an election year), or amazingly poor (let’s toss a bone to the bleeding hearts, having people die in the streets is not something we want to see on the front page), etc. etc.

In case you didn’t want to read that wall of text, basically what we have is a system that takes care of employees of large corporations, and also anyone who fits into some demographic that a congressman can get a photo op signing a bill to give them benefits. But if you are an adult male (or a majority of women who aren’t pregnant or raising children, and even then…),under 65, who doesn’t work for a large corporation (self employed, small business owners and their staff, working two half-time jobs, etc. etc. the only option for you is to get a high-deductible, low payout insurance that costs a lot because you have no collective leverage, and doesn’t really help you unless you get really f***ed up and your healthcare costs go through the roof. Then it will keep you out of bankruptcy… maybe.