why do we need health insurance companies? ?

YES we need health insurance companies, and NO this is not how to bring the costs down. Under this logic, why would we need auto insurance? If you cause a wreck, you'll just have to pay the other party and pay to repair your car, or you'll just have to declare bankruptcy and walk. Why do we need life insurance? Save enough money while you're alive, or let your family become destitute after you're gone. After all, you're dead - what do you care?

Insurance is designed to prevent people from having to incur unforeseen expenses. Who PLANS to develop cancer, MS, diabetes, heart disease, Crone's disease? These can be VERY expensive. A 30-day supply of weekly Avonex injections (4 total) for MS is $6,000. That's $72,000 per year, or more than most individuals or families earn in that time. Does that mean that only the extremely wealthy "deserve" to survive catastrophic or chronic illnesses? And the rest of us will just die off? But then who will clean the toilets and make the meals for the wealthy?

Edit to add:

The reason we don't have insurance plans for "auto repair, Christmas, and college educations" is that Christmas and college educations are foreseeable expenses. Christmas comes at the same time every year; and if you have a child, you know that in 18 years, the child may be going to college. As for auto repair, while some of those expenses may be unforeseen, if you maintain your car regularly (i.e., routine services and oil chances), you can greatly reduce the chance of having "catastrophic" auto repair costs.

Insurance companies may be one of the wealthiest businesses going, but they provide a service that's valuable to most Americans. They have to weigh risk vs. benefit. While some people may never have to utilize the insurance they pay for, they know it IS there if they need it, and the premiums they pay go towards the benefits that may be paid towards another insured who does need it.

Short answer. Most "civilised" countries have Universal Health Care. They put the insurance companies out of the Health Care System altogether. The tax payers foot the bill and nobody dies because they can't afford the Doctor or the Medications. It is pathetic to consider that in the most powerfull nation in the world that there are still people receiving third world or no medical assistance. That is a crime against "the people".

Government run health care would be most economical, because the insurance companies make a profit.

A completely "self-pay" system is unthinkable. How many of us have hundreds of thousands of dollars saved up for heart surgery? Half the physicians and surgeons would go out of business, because nobody could pay for the more expensive procedures. Anybody who got seriously ill would simply die.

NO, that is how you make americans really poor and homeless. Yes, healthcare premiums are high, but they have out of pocket maximums that are nothing in comparison to the rest of the bills that insurance pays.

I understand the logic ... but I'm not giving up my insurance for that plan ... :/ ...