No one is forcing those doctors to participate in that system. Many (but not enough) of them don't, and operate cash clinics, which have a better reputation for quality.

But ultimately, healthcare is suffering not because of the insurance companies, but because of the American Medical Association, which worked to artificially limit the supply of doctors so that doctors could be paid more. This makes it more optimal for doctors to choose to participate in the insurance scheme as well.

So I ask again, why are we prioritizing the automation of software development, where neither the skill nor the profession itself is gatekept like healthcare is?

Insurance companies are part of the problem but not the foremost problem. Their profit margins are less than 10%, even if they operated as a charity, healthcare costs wouldn't go down much.

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/insurance-companies-arent-the-...

I think doctors generally do their best, but it's still disappointing. Doctors can't make food less enticing. https://www.instagram.com/lukesmithrd/p/DBRoWvRSMKx/

Maybe we can agree they didn't fail society, but I still think reversing the artificial supply reduction of doctors is arguably better from a utilitarian perspective than doing so with software engineers.