[aksss]

This is great info but I would add that when you talk about the unemployed left out in the cold, you also need to consider the self-employed. Having insurance tied to discrete employer risk pools makes insurance on the private market very expensive for all of those who cannot get subsidies (ACA/Medicaid). It really discourages people from taking the risks to start new ventures. When I started my business I went years without medical coverage.

[bhupy]

Yes, agreed. A big part of why that's the case is that the individual market is one huge adverse sample, in its current form. Because most healthy people in the US are employed, they tend to receive their health insurance through employer sponsored group plans, which by design pools risk only within that group.

What ends up happening is that anyone left over has to participate in risky markets with higher premiums in general, resulting in the mostly broken state of the US individual market.

In contrast, you have countries like Switzerland where pretty much all health insurance is purchased on the individual market, and risk is pooled across larger and more diverse populations.