In this industry severance is common, which often includes some amount of continuation of coverage. You are then usually eligible for COBRA, a law that lets you continue your current policy for 18 months self-funded (often expensive). You have 60 days to elect COBRA, so if you find another job or gain other coverage before needing care you can sometimes avoid paying for it.

You can get your own coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. It's not necessarily a great deal, but again, it's about keeping that out of pocket limit as a safety net.

In all likelihood the burned out hypothetical software engineer is going to recover and find work with employer funded healthcare coverage again.