How Did Health Care Get to Be Such a Mess?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/opinion/health-insurance-american-medical-association.html
"An alternative structure can be found in the early decades of the 20th century, when the medical marketplace offered a variety of models."
"Physicians established a particularly elegant model: the prepaid doctor group. Unlike today’s physician practices, these groups usually staffed a variety of specialists, including general practitioners, surgeons and obstetricians. Patients received integrated care in one location, with group physicians from across specialties meeting regularly to review treatment options for their chronically ill or hard-to-treat patients.

Individuals and families paid a monthly fee, not to an insurance company but directly to the physician group. This system held down costs. "

A historical perspective is very important to understanding the mess that insurance companies created for us, while enriching themselves.