> This left me without health insurance coverage for a week between jobs...I suppose people in the US are so used to this being "the way it is"
No. Actually we are not used to that being the way it is, the US has had a solution in place for this very problem since 1985 [1,2] - it's called COBRA and it extends your health care coverage after you leave a job that provides it.
Make no mistake - you pay for it. But by US employment law, HR is required to inform you about how to get COBRA to continue your health care coverage after you separate.
So author either had a company violating labor laws - or he declined COBRA coverage.
1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_Omnibus_Budget_Re...