THE CASE FOR catastrophic health insurance: [W]hy I have health insurance is simple: my employer pays for it. If my employer didn't pay for it, I wouldn't have it. I'd buy a catastrophic policy from a reputable insurer to cover any amount that might bankrupt me, and self-insure for everything else.”

I would, too. But I can’t, because my employer won’t offer it; my wife’s employer won’t offer it; and I can’t buy it on the open market because I have a “pre-existing condition” (at my age, anything less than a perfect medical record is a “pre-existing condition”.)