@travelaround
"My usual medical expenses for the year prior to Medicare: less than $200. I was going to a sliding-fee clinic and have inexpensive medications." That sounds great. I begin Medicare early in 2019 but my health insurance premium for January 2019 is almost $1200; this is for one month of coverage. Your solution to health care costs sounds much better than mine; props to you. My situation might be different than your situation, however. I have had "surgical" procedures somewhat frequently. (If you have GERD, my story below might be of value to you.)
I have Barrett's esophagus ("Barrett's esophagus is associated with an increased risk of developing esophageal cancer. Although the risk is small, it's important to have regular checkups for precancerous cells (dysplasia). If precancerous cells are discovered, they can be treated to prevent esophageal cancer."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/barretts-esophagus/symptoms-causes/syc-20352841 ). My gastroenterologist told me a couple years ago that I had a choice; have frequent endoscopies to check on the Barrett's or have treatment to get rid of it. He also said we could check your Barrett's every couple years with a clean report each time and then one time, maybe 20 years from now, we could discover that you have advanced esophageal cancer. I decided to have radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to get rid of "the pink areas." My first follow-up endoscopy (in 2017) after the RFA procedure found 95+% of the "Barrett's" tissue was gone. My second follow-up endoscopy last week found that almost no "Barrett's" tissue was remaining and my gastroenterologist biopsied the small remaining region of concern; he said my esophagus looks great (smooth, etc.).
One of my mom's cousins died of esophageal cancer in his 40s or 50s. One of my brothers discovered in the 1990s that he has Barrett's esophagus; I had never heard of it until he told me about it and suggested that I get checked. He wears lots of hats and one of these is as a firefighter; he fought many of the fires in northern California including the Camp fire. He has fought fires for decades for the federal government and the state of California. He has not had his Barrett's esophagus treated but I told him about my experience and he will look into treatment. Damage to the lungs and esophagus is a serious problem for people fighting house, forest, etc. fires and the Camp fire was especially bad for the firefighters; many (most?) of the older, experienced firefighters who fought the Camp fire are having difficulty completely recovering. (The psychological damage from things like driving every day past burnt cars which could not be removed because human remains were found in the cars is an additional burden many of the firefighters carry.)
I have had other surgical procedures (e.g. sinus surgery, bypass for an aneurysm in one leg) over the last five years but overall I am extremely healthy. However health insurance has been necessary for me. I think every medical issue that has arisen for me has been treated or managed (e.g. very mild asthma). I am free to exercise, go running, hike, etc.