Both of you are thinking in terms of efficiency and not control. You're dependent on your job to get health care. Lose your job? Better not get sick or hurt.

Of course the new thing is to not give employees too few hours so you legally don't have to provide health insurance for them and make them pay for it themselves. Which is much more expensive.

Sure there's Medicaid, but first you have to qualify. Then there's different parts that cover different things and not others. You may also still have copays, deductibles, and other charges you still have to worry about.