I was hospitalized about two decades ago, before ACA passed, so my insurance was limited to 500k, I was on the hook for about 180k beyond that... because I was making decent income I was ineligible for Medicaid or any other assistance... I worked extra jobs for a number of years after, every tax return, the couple bonuses that I'd earned all went towards paying it down... Anyone who was willing to negotiate the amount or take reasonable payments got paid... the rest could wait... after the 7 years before it was no longer eligible for being on my credit statement, I stopped (still owed about 40k iirc).

The past few years, I've been receiving some very expensive treatments for my eyes... given the job market, I've been without and switched jobs a couple times... been caught with a few unexpected bills for around $15k... it just sucks. I'm currently making about 2/3 of what I was a couple years ago, with no better job prospects, the insurance I have is "emergency" based and doesn't cover my regular doctor bills... I'm at my max at this point, thinking about bankruptcy for a while now.

The system sucks... the billing system(s) suck and the fact that it's as messed up as it is, is so much worse. From monopoly positions, to messed up billing, to everything else... I don't even know. Even on a six figure salary, I cannot afford private insurance and the multiple $300-400 doctor and pharmacy bills each month are seriously destroying me.