The purpose of health insurance was not to provide a lock-step process which becomes mandatory to the individual. Insurance covers potential and actual harm in ways to reduce costs which otherwise would be brutal to the individual. In no way does any insurance plan say you can't use any health care provider - the plans just identify which providers have made deals for discounts and identify claims procedures for recovery of some (but rarely all) costs to providers who have not gotten into the "preferred" pool.

As an example, for the last 10 years I've used the same dentist, a periodontist I trust implicitly. He's not a "preferred" provider on any plan I have, but I go to him twice a year, paying him directly, and would not consider going to any of those listed on my health insurance plan because doing so would save me a couple hundred bucks. That "trust factor" is a strong one, and much more valuable than dealing with strangers. Sure, it means my annual health care bill is higher doing so, but the value is worth it.

So, freedom of choice is always available under today's "system." It's just a matter of what is more important, and if exercising this freedom means there's a couple restaurant trips missed, or "Today's Special Value" is ignored once in a while, it's a fair tradeoff to me.