>>In any risk assessment, you have to balance impact with likelihood. Yes, it could have happened, but the likelihood is so rare that it's not worth the premium.
What makes healthcare dramatically different is that, as a layperson, you cannot accurately assess the likelihood variable. You may have some very rough ideas - for example, a professional snowboarder is more likely to get a sports-related injury - but stuff that tends to be extremely expensive is also stuff that can happen to anyone at any time.
This differs from, say, car insurance, where a lot of the factors such as the value of your car, the frequency of driving, your driving habits, etc. are known. As such, you can optimize it much more effectively.
What makes healthcare dramatically different is that, as a layperson, you cannot accurately assess the likelihood variable. You may have some very rough ideas - for example, a professional snowboarder is more likely to get a sports-related injury - but stuff that tends to be extremely expensive is also stuff that can happen to anyone at any time.
This differs from, say, car insurance, where a lot of the factors such as the value of your car, the frequency of driving, your driving habits, etc. are known. As such, you can optimize it much more effectively.