If I pay out of pocket for EVERYTHING, including specialists and medication, then my total cost for the year is about $2000. If I buy insurance then my minimum cost for the year is going to be closer to $4,000 and I still wouldn't hit the deductible. That is with a silver plan, with co-insurance, that qualifies for assistance (I shouldn't have to tell you how little I earn to qualify for assistance).
The service you get with that plan... wait 3 months to see a primary care, then wait another 3 months to get an appointment with an in-network psychiatrist. If you can't wait 6 months to get meds you've been taking for years, then just go to Urgent care, where you will be treated like a drug addict. Urgent care is: wait in the lobby for 3 hours, pay $100 for a drug test so they can prescribe you meds, get interrogated by a physician who gets hit up by addicts every day and they will treat you like one, wait in the lobby for another hour to get your prescription, then get a massive bill.
If I go out of pocket to pay for a psychiatrist, I can get an appointment this week. Why is this important for me? Well, because as a consultant I move states every 3 to 6 months. If every time I moved I had to buy new insurance, and then wait for a primary care appointment, and then wait for a specialist.... I would never get treatment. And believe me, the first 4 times I moved I got new insurance in every state, but in every state it was completely the same.
That is why I don't buy insurance. It wont be like this forever, because as my business grows I earn more... but for the time being it is an enormous burden and I can't afford to double my healthcare costs to get the shittiest service, fuck that.