[bigwavedave]

Remember that your situation is not universal. The moment I change jobs, either I have to pay several arms and my remaining leg through COBRA to keep my insurance for a few months or I have to eat whatever I've already paid towards the deductible and annual out-of-pocket max with my old insurance, plus start spending towards the deductible and annual out-of-pocket max with my new insurance. For my family, it depends on the insurance company, but it's typically between $15 and $20k.

My wife and I have chronic conditions- we frequently hit our annual max within the first three months of the year. If I don't switch to a new job before that fills up, I've wasted $15,000. For me, switching jobs is essentially a $15,000 fine.

So yeah, insurance being tied to a specific company is very much an incentive to stay with that company.