John Cole echoes Congressman Weiner:
Hell, I can't, for the life of me, figure out what value the insurance companies add at all. Seems like all they do is skim money off the top, add layers of paperwork, and then screw people when they get a serious illness.
Theoretically, their purpose is to bridge the gap between what a patient can reasonably afford and the actual cost of healthcare, which is very expensive and only within the out-of-pocket grasp of the super wealthy.
However, health insurance premiums are no longer affordable; health insurance policies aren't reliable; patients (all of us) are paying more and more of these exorbitant healthcare costs out of pocket; coverage is being flat-out denied; and health insurance corporations are making larger profits and executives are raking in larger salaries.
It's the Mafia. The original intent of the mob was to offer protection in exchange for a tribute or fee. That stopped sometime on or around World War II and the Mafia became all about collecting the fee or else, and often "busting out" the people they're supposed to be protecting. So there you go.