What is a primary goal of health insurance?

Minimizing financial risk associated with medical expenses is indeed a primary goal of health insurance. Health insurance is designed to protect individuals and families from high costs that can arise from unexpected health issues or medical emergencies. By spreading the financial risk among a larger pool of insured individuals, health insurance helps ensure that people do not face overwhelming expenses in the event of hospitalization, surgeries, or other significant healthcare needs.

This risk-sharing framework allows individuals to pay a premium, which in turn provides them access to necessary medical services without the burden of paying full costs out-of-pocket. This mechanism is crucial, as it creates a safety net, allowing people to seek care when they need it without the fear of prohibitive costs.

In contrast, while free healthcare services, unlimited choice of healthcare providers, and guaranteed outcomes for all treatments may seem beneficial, these are not typical goals of health insurance. Free healthcare services often require different funding mechanisms, like government programs, which are separate from the typical insurance model. Additionally, allowing unlimited provider choice can lead to inefficiencies and increased costs, which contradicts the goal of minimizing financial risk. Lastly, guaranteeing outcomes for all medical treatments is not feasible due to the complexity of healthcare and the variability in patient responses to treatments, making it unrealistic in