What do you not get? You're comparing apples and oranges. I agree with you.....health insurance is clearly more important and is non-negotiable. You have to have it. Therefore, you're trapped. You must get it (especially if you have a family). The premiums and associated costs just go up and up far beyond the rate of inflation and any pay increases.
You can CHOOSE whether or not to buy a car or what type of transportation to utilize. If you need that, you have a choice of how cheap or expensive you want to go. You certainly don't need to make a $500 monthly payments to have reliable transportation. Health insurance on the other hand does not have many options. Yes, you can choose not to have it or choose a completely inferior plan that would not sufficiently cover your family, but that's not smart.
And yes, $740 / month is relatively very high compared to other similar employers in this industry. The insurance at my previous regional airline was much better. In this industry and in most American company benefit plans, it would NOT be considered an entitilement. It's a competitive advantage employees should expect to be offered. Yes, I know, they don't have to, it's a capitalistic society, etc., etc., etc. The bottom line is that B6's employees are being taken advantage of in comparison to those at other airlines.