down was the public option — decoupling it from employers and removing the insurance companies’ role in managing those plans.

Also, getting everyone to participate in the insurance market through mandate was the other mechanism — which by default everyone is already in because of laws that force hospitals to provide emergency care to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay - the result is that those who can’t pay go to the ER to receive care (the most inefficient/expensive way to administer care) and those costs are spread over those who can pay (hence the $230,000 bill we see with the OP)

Glad she is ok, and yes the system is very broken. So many more issues that are causing such rediculous expense.