Who pays 1500 for state insurance? It's subsidized. I would have to look up the exact numbers but it should be fairly affordable. I knew people who were single paying 75$.
My grandfather worked for the State and he's earned more money from his pension than he did working. Depends on how long you live.
It's attitudes like that, that makes government worse . Civil service used to be a duty to your country to try and make it better. Serve the people. It's not only about money.
You're generalizing.
When did the "people you knew" show you their pay stubs? 20 or 30 years ago?
Were the people you knew retired military? Vets get free government medical. Most decline coverage altogether or only enroll in dental unless the employer is offering to cover 100% of the premiums -- which many do.
Were the people you knew married? You said single, but was that all of them? Most working couples only enroll one spouse and the other acts as a dependent.
My company's HI division was rolled into a group Kaiser plan in CA that lowered our premiums from $350/month for a family of 2 or more to $100/month or less. At one point, it was just $45/month The state does the same. They negotiate rates based on the number of contributing employees.
The state also decides what percentage of the monthly premiums they will subsidize. If/when things change, such as premium rates increasing and budgets decreasing, the subsidy the state pays can also change. The person you knew may have started out pay only $75, but in a few years may have seen their portion double or worse.
You shouldn't toss out numbers and not include details of the insured's situation and alternative coverages.
We rarely get to see the insurance plan's details of both the employee's and employer's contributions. What get's deducted from your paycheck is a product of many variables. Arguing with undocumented anecdotal information won't win any points.