My neighbor a retired Doctor said to me: "Isn't Medicare Wonderful?"

 Yes. Medicare is wonderful if you are 65 or older. Because I found that trying to make it from 50 to 64 was the hardest. By the time I was 64 I was paying 1800 dollars a month for full medical coverage and most people can't come up with 21,600 dollars a year for insurance payments for their health. So, I was very lucky I could afford this. Without medical care at age 50 with a heart virus I likely would not be alive today. However, it is also true that if I didn't have medical coverage in 2015 when my appendix burst I likely wouldn't be alive today either. So, I think that having some sort of medical coverage even if it is a bronze plan only for catastrophic injuries or illnesses is a good and necessary idea for most people if you want to actually make it to 60 or 70 years old in the first place.

I could cruise along most of the time until my 40s without any medical coverage at all while I ran my businesses but after 45 or 50 doing that likely would have been fatal at least for me.

I find most people by 40 and 50 have to see doctors more regularly if they want to stay alive. Also, even in your 20s it's likely good to be screened for Skin Cancer or Colon Cancer these days as well.

However, from 15 to 45 I often didn't have medical insurance at all and I survived it but I wouldn't have very well or at all after 45 or 50. Something to think about.