The meme is a little exaggerated.

Since demographics matter for insurance cost. White, male, 30-40yr old married non-smoker.

My insurance monthly is ~350 a month, but I only pay about 80 dollars, and my employer covers the rest.

What do I get for that?

1 eye exam and 1 pair of lenses and 1 frame a year (spending limit on the frame is ~200 IIRC)

1 dental cleaning, 50% coverage on dental procedures, with a maximum benefit of 1500 dollars.

Medical… It’s kinda a crapshoot. 0 dollars for an annual checkup. 25 dollar copay for additional Dr visits. I wanna say 800 dollar copay on ER visits. Maximum out of pocket is 5500 a year.

Also, fuck you if you get injured in some states, most other countries, or if you go to any hospital (or even a particular Dr in a hospital) which isn’t “in network” (PS, there is no way for you to find out who is in-network, and keep your sanity).

Don’t even ask me about pharmacy. It’s practically a roulette. One medication may be 100% covered at one location, and 0% at another. Generic may not be covered, even if it is cheaper and more available than the brand name.

American healthcare isn’t particularly fast either. I injured my ankle about 4 years ago. I tried to establish with a Dr to get it checked out (and avoid exorbitant ER/urgent care fees) and the closest appointment was 4 months out.

My partner and I had to get a covid test in 2020. I called my provider and they said it would be 100% covered. My partner caller thier provider, and their response was “we don’t know, get one done and we’ll see what happens”. They received a 300 dollar bill for the test.