How about instead you just give me my $12k?

A friend said something insightful in a recent email:

Imagine if someone tried to sell you the current system. They're going to take $1000/mo, $12k/year out of your paycheck. No, you don't have a choice. You then STILL have to pay a portion of your doctor's visits, basic procedures, and so forth, sometimes adding up to several thousand more dollars each year. And you have no control over what these services cost, or what your bill will be. Most of the time they can't even tell you that, and you just have to cross your fingers until the bill comes. Who would voluntarily choose THAT?

How about instead you just give me my $12k, and I'll buy my own insurance that covers catastrophic costs? I'm liable for the first... oh, let's pull a number out of the air... $12k of expenses (less the premium price), and if I don't have to go to the doctor for anything more than a yearly physical, I can just pocket the unused money. I can ask a clinic, "how much does this cost?" and they can tell me a single, nice, simple number. And if I don't like their price, I can shop around for a clinic that can do it for less. Can I have that? A $12k-deductible health plan can't cost that much, anyway. With the rest of the money my wife and I can tour Europe for two weeks every summer.