The difference between your risk-adjusted premiums (based on your lifetime expected payouts + margin and overhead) and the amount that you actually pay in premiums can best be described as a "tax", because if it is positive, that money is directly going towards subsidizing someone else's premiums, and it is mandated by the government.
You can make the argument that it's the right thing to do because it allows people to purchase insurance that they otherwise would be unable to afford, based on their expected risk level (ie, past health) and their current income, but it's important to understand that that's not the way insurance itself works. The insurance is simply being bundled together with that tax, so you only see the one price at the end, instead of having it broken down and itemized.
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