This depends on various things such as the state you live in. The worst financial disaster I ever went through resulted from medical care supposedly "covered" by employer-provided insurance, which turned out to be terrible in ways I had never imagined possible, leaving me with a mountain of debt (while going through a divorce, no less). Conversely, on two occasions - once in Oregon and once in Washington - I went to the ER in need of care while unemployed and uninsured, and the state health plan just... took care of me; it was fine. (One of these occasions was a career hiatus, as described in the article.)