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In the US I've had insurance off and on over the past decade. The insurance I have currently is through my university. It is, to put it mildy, terrible. One of my doctors is great, but the others aren't - most of my visits end with "Eh, I don't know." I had a problem with depression a couple of years ago - it was a very severe case (the barely make it out of bed type, and normally I'm a tornado on legs), lasted about 8 months. I had access to one part time psychiatrist who, if I wasn't depressed (and the inability to do anything that entails) I would have pursued to the best of my ability to get fired. She was absolutely dreadful and actually spent most of our first meeting insulting me (went on about my weight because she consulted a stupid BMI chart and decided I was obese.. until I stood up and she realized I was just built like a tank. But you don't spend a half hour telling a VERY depressed person how fat they are, even if they are which I wasn't) and letting me know her personal politics.
So, I had to spend 110 dollars every week seeing a private doctor for meds/therapy. I didn't have a choice because my options was that beast or talk to the grad students who were less than worthless ("so you're saying your depressed." "Yes, you're so helpful how you repeat everything I say without offering anything at all useful.")
My parents who had insurance lost their coverage that they have had for over 20 years, never missed a payment, etc. after my dad was diagnosed with diabetes. They just canceled the coverage with some sort of obscene technicality (it was some sort of paperwork issue that was extremely minor but they go looking for that sort of thing when you really get sick.) So they lost their insurance and had to find another plan that is over a 1000 dollars a month because of their age and dad's health and their meds are STILL hundreds of dollars a month (and my mom is perfectly healthy and dad is in decent shape besides the diabetes/blood pressure). And fortunately, my parents can afford this... but not easily. They had money at the time, and this happened to them. So this insurance crap doesn't just effect the poor.
Yay private insurance. It sure does entail excellence.
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