Health Care (The Office)

"Health Care" is the third episode of the first season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's third episode overall. Written by Paul Lieberstein, who also acts in the show as Toby Flenderson, and directed by Ken Whittingham, the episode first aired in the United States on April 5, 2005 on NBC.

In this episode, Michael (Steve Carell) is tasked with choosing a new and inexpensive health care plan. He immediately hands it off to enthusiastic volunteer Dwight (Rainn Wilson). Dwight ruthlessly cuts nearly all benefits in the new plan, angering the rest of the office staff. Meanwhile, Pam (Jenna Fischer) and Jim (John Krasinski) make up fake diseases, much to Dwight's chagrin. In an attempt to appease them, Michael promises the entire office a surprise and then spends the rest of the day scrambling to come through with his promise. The employees wait for Michael's surprise, which he awkwardly never delivers.

Jenna Fischer later called "Health Care" her favorite season one episode. During one particular scene, Rainn Wilson kept improvising new fake diseases. The laughter that resulted in his ad-libs was not scripted, as they were in fact the cast's genuine reaction to Wilson's fake diseases. The episode received a 2.9/7 in the Nielsen ratings among people aged 18–49 garnered 5.8 million viewers overall. In addition, the episode retained 100% of its lead-in 18-49 audience and ranked, along with the other first-season episodes of The Office, as NBC's highest-rated Tuesday night program since February 1, 2005. The episode received positive reviews.