My spouse works for a big company and we have good medical insurance. We pay quite a bit in premiums and always have.
Insurance does NOT pay for the things that keep us healthy: fruits and vegetables, exercise, chiropractic or alternative health care, vitamins, healthy food properly prepared, stress reduction and yoga, homeopathics.

Ok, fair enough.

A few years back, we were urged by the company to participate in "health evaluation surveys". A $50 gift card was attached to this "optional" survey. Questions included: smoking, drinking, levels of stress. At that time I told my spouse that within 10 years the insurance company would dictate our lives.

Friends of ours chose NOT to take any surveys. They were politely pursued by the company.

This year the hammer fell. Everyone HAS to take the evaluation survey or pay 20% more in premiums. Questions included: how much fat do you eat, how much alcohol do you drink and how often, do you wear a seatbelt, do you use sunscreen, do you have stress, how many vegetables do you eat, do you smoke, how much do you sleep, have you had a traumatic event this year, how's your cholesterol, how's your blood pressure, how much do you weigh, how much exercise do you get, etc.

IF you tell less than the truth, the insurance company MAY withhold benefits (ex: you are in an accident and were not wearing a seat belt)

IF an answer concerns them (the amount of fat I eat, for example) there is a phone call to me and the offer of the free services of a diet coach/nurse. I got one of those last night.

If you refuse the phone call and the offer of a free nurse, you get a letter urging you to use this "free benefit" of wellness coaching. My friend got one of those the other day.

Right now the cost of insurance will go up if there is a smoker IN THE HOUSE. I say it is only 5 years before weight of the insured will make the cost go up.

My response to the (very polite) insurance people these days is: "will the insurance company pay for broccoli, a proven anti-cancer food? I will abide by your rules once you pay for all the things it takes to keep me healthy."

Please be aware of all the subtle things going on with health insurance companies.
Look at what you pay for premiums and think about all that going into a special savings account JUST for major medical problems.

I had a major illness a few years ago. My spouse carefully studied the bills and what the insurance paid out to the hospital. It was one tenth of the bill. Had we kept the insurance premium money in an interest bearing account over the years, we could have just paid the hospital and doctors ourselves.

Scary times. I just want to give a heads up. Learn to care for yourself and your small illnesses and injuries. Eat well and exercise any way you can.

It does not stop there.

Ever been to a business and had someone tell you that their insurance company would not allow them to do something? People give me a funny look when I ask them who is in charge them or the insurance company. Then they get a little pissy when I tell them to grow some balls and tell the insurance company to take a hike. People are already being controlled by insurance companies as we speak.

They haven't spent all this time and money breaking us all down for nothing.
The FDA is no where near making any moves to removing all the toxic additives in the foods and the sodium fluoride in the water and beverage drinks. They are expecting us all to have health problems, they've planned ahead, making profits on both ends of the breaking us down and the treatments.

I watched a documentary last night on Current TV about US citizens going overseas to get surgeries, because they simply cannot afford the corporatized medical field present in the US. The narrator mentioned that we were the only country in the world to allow Wall Street/banksters to run the medical profession. One of those women was over 1M USD in medical debt.

They can get the same quality of medical care overseas at half the price, or less. I just thought that was relevant, and thought I would share.

Excellent responses from all. Thank you.

As for insurance in general, the insurance companies DO run certain aspects of US lives. I was urged to get a newly dead tree cut down (at my expense) because it was near my house. If it fell the insurance company would not pay.
Friends of ours had no choice in having their house reevaluated by the insurance company, who told them to remove any twigs and branches from the roof. The company came by and took photos. They refused and the company said they would deny any roof claim.

I am not surprised social media will expose us in ways we don't want. All it takes is one chatty friend to say "wow you were drunk" to set the insurance agents going.

It is all about maximizing profit for the company.