The leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States is unpaid medical bills.

The leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States is unpaid medical bills.: "The U. S. health-care system, according to “Uninsured in America,” has created a group of people who increasingly look different from others and suffer in ways that others do not. Half of the uninsured owe money to hospitals, and a third are being pursued by collection agencies. Children without health insurance are less likely to receive medical attention for serious injuries, for recurrent ear infections, or for asthma. Lung-cancer patients without insurance are less likely to receive surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment. Heart-attack victims without health insurance are less likely to receive angioplasty. People with pneumonia who don’t have health insurance are less likely to receive X rays or consultations. The death rate in any given year for someone without health insurance is twenty-five per cent higher than for someone with insur-ance. Because the uninsured are sicker than the rest of us, they can’t get better jobs, and because they can’t get better jobs they can’t afford health insurance, and because they can’t afford health insurance they get even sicker. One of the great mysteries of political life in the United States is why Americans are so devoted to their health-care system."
Scary - I hope the rest of the world learns and does not repeat the same mistakes !
Health insurance plays a key role in the healthcare system in USA today, and this article describes what's wrong with it. Excellent discussion on "moral hazards"; and the social versus the actuarial model of providing insurance coverage.