> it seems that the health insurance business thrives on trying to avoid as far as possible giving healthcare to people once they're sick.

That's not just health insurance. All insurance wants to take your money and then avoid paying in any way possible.

I haven't heard the original joke in full, but the way you wrote it, it very much applies - umbrellas are somewhat useful when it's sunny too, so you get some benefit from lending one. Similarly, health insurance isn't useless, but it definitely tries to not be there when needed most.

JFYI:

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/04/07/banker-umbrella/

I personally like the 1949 version:

>Definition of a banker: A man who loans you an umbrella when the sun is shining, asks for it back at the first sprinkle of rain, and doesn’t own the umbrella in the first place.

Well, knowing you'll need to pay (and roughly how much) kinda defeats the purpose of insurance altogether.