>> Of course, in those days the first question when you went to a doctor or hospital was NOT "What's the name of your insurance company?".

For sure.
I worked my way through college as a caddy and caddy master at a golf club on Long Island. Many of the members were affluent MD's and they took care of the caddies at no cost.
One caddy's wife had some serious complications giving birth and required extensive hospitalization and specialized care.
All the members chipped in and the MD's worked gratis.

Somehow we've equated insurance with health care.
It really protects assets, not health, and as such has value - but it saves money, not lives.
Before the advent of any health insurance I knew a family that was not rich, but was comfortable.
One of the members required expensive care and all of the family's assets were wiped out.
Insurance is a good way to protect against that and I'd advise anyone with substantial assets to have high deductible insurance.