Your car analogy is quite applicable.

Health insurance is fine. But it needs to be actual insurance and not a payment plan. Think of it like car or homeowners insurance. It’s there to handle unexpected big ticket things, not routine maintenance.

I‘m a fan of HSAs on steroids. Tie a high deductible policy to a tax- free savings account that I own entirely. I say on steroids because I’d like the option to raise the deductible even higher and allow me to save as much as I want in that account. But the current HSA model is a good start. I can keep everything I put in there for life, it’s tax free as long as it’s spent on medical expenses. At retirement age it’s eligible to be pulled out for any other reason but doing so mesns it will be taxed (no additional penalties, just regular income). And I can make money on the balance over time.