Let me run a fact by folks that some will not like. Americans are so fat now that many could not get an individual health insurance policy. Back in 78 I wrote health insurance for Mutual of Omaha. A younger female came by our office three months in a row trying to get a policy with even a 50% rate increase due to her weight. She was 5’3” and over 210 lbs. I showed her the underwriting guide that clearly stated she had to be under 202 lbs. to get coverage. Three times she failed. I can state that most nurses I saw in Vanderbilt’s ER would fail and not have insurance if they were not on group insurance.
I worked for Blue Cross and Blue Shield for 15 years, half of those as a claims examiner (the rest as a programmer for claims examiners), and you are correct. Individual policies have to be very selective since there is basically no risk pool (if I recall correctly). Group policies can spread the risks around, and thereby can allow higher risk applicants. Those obese nurses in the hospital would likely never have been able to get individual policies.