If they don't want to have a way to ask a question, they shouldn't have one. The assistant who answers questions has literally never provided value. She is just wasting her time, and mine. I would actually prefer if they didn't pretend you could get useful info through the "ask a non-emergency medical question" option.
And as tssva said, these questions are often follow-ups on topics discussed at an appointment, so it's not untethered from revenue.
They are willing to answer some questions, I.e. the ones a nurse or medical assistant can answer; it’s the medical questions that only a provider can answer that they need to be able to bill for.
IME they are roughly as useful as Google, but with much greater latency. They are also wrong not-infrequently, either because they misunderstood the question, or because they gave an incorrect response.
And as tssva said, these questions are often follow-ups on topics discussed at an appointment, so it's not untethered from revenue.