This question may have a zillion different answers here in the US depending on which state you are in. Back in England the answer was a simple 'no'. Here the enrollment period for health insurance is often Nov 1 to mid December. Even if you catch the enrollment period it doesn't always work out very well.
Someone I know has a sister who needed a liver transplant, not due to alcohol but to too much fast food. She had good health insurance from her company, she had worked at for many years. That paid a big wad of money but the bill was over a million dollars, so she still owes a cool million. In Britain the cost would be 150,000 in dollars, all free at point of delivery covered by the National Health Service. Do we really need all that stress?
I think we need some of it, because the British are a bit too laid back, But a lot of people do get over stressed and I would guess that might explain why the homicide rate here is six times what it is in Britain. UK 1.0 intentional homicides per 100,000 population US 6.4 intentional homicides per 100,000 population There are a lot of other factors in life, but health care and checking what is and isn't covered is a big stressor for me. And of course the policy changes every year.
There's nothing wrong.The health care industry is working like intended. The only thing that's wrong is that there is a health care industry instead of a health care service.
Well, it must have been bad insurance if her company paid for it and she still owed a million dollars in medical bills. Most insurance I've seen has a maximum amount that you pay out of pocket before all remaining medical bills are completely covered by insurance. If you're saying she lost her job and her health insurance, then ever since Obamacare came into law if you lose your job it's one of the lifetime events that qualifies you to shop for a new plan on the health exchange website at any time of year.