Always viewed this as more of a "if you get into a $100k medical emergency, hopefully it'll be covered and you aren't fucked! just don't go to the wrong hospital."
Sometimes that doesn't even matter. Went to a hospital that was in-network once but the doctor I saw was out-of-network and the lab they sent my blood work to was also out-of-network. Hello, extra several hundred dollars I didn't budget for. How the fuck can a hospital can be in network but a specific doctor in that hospital is out of network? If I had seen a different doctor who would have done the exact same shit it would have been covered.
Then there's the times where my wife has had two identical appointments except for one extra thing done at a second appointment that cost $30, but that one thing wasn't covered by insurance so the insurance company denied the entire fucking $500 visit like holy shit why can't I just pay the doctor $30 for the uncovered expense
A lot of times anesthesiologist won't be in network with any insurer. Nobody picks their anesthesiologist. It's such bullshit.
I think their should be a public and private option, but there needs to be more regulation about that BS. ---