Americans tend to go into massive medical debt, still they can have that credit extended to them because over their careers they’ll make more than 84,000 and pr

Americans tend to go into massive medical debt, still they can have that credit extended to them because over their careers they’ll make more than 84,000 and probably pay it off if they live. Collecting part of that amount is still profitable because there’s no basis in the actual cost of treatment rendered. Compare to someone in (poor country) who is lucky to collect a few hundred dollars a year, no one will ever extend that person 84,000 in debt, because they don’t have any chance of making that amount over the course of their entire career. Ability to pay is significantly different from “savings.” The $400 emergency expense number is about having savings (extra money in the bank) which is really a complicated issue relating to financial literacy and debt to income ratios. You could have someone making 6 figures living in an expensive house, driving a nice car, who can’t come up with $400 because he’s overextended himself. It’s a question of liquidity rather than ability to pay. If his wages get garnished, maybe he loses the house and has to sell the car, but the medicine still gets paid for.