> going to an ER could leave you with crippling debt You're right of course, but having grown up around people in this sort of situation, I'd like to point out

> going to an ER could leave you with crippling debt You're right of course, but having grown up around people in this sort of situation, I'd like to point out that they view debt differently. It's exceedingly unlikely that a trip to the ER is the thing that destroys their otherwise decent credit, and it's unlikely that the collection agency that ultimately buys the debt will take them to court to collect as they don't have anything to put a lien against and may not even have an income to garnish. In other words "leave you with crippling debt" isn't nearly as scary to the people in that situation as it is to someone who isn't.