79 Million US Adults Have Medical Bill Problems Or Are Paying Off Medical Debt

I can really relate to this. I couldn't afford a cataract operation until my vision was on the boundary of being illegal to drive. And I could only afford to have one cataract removed. I hope Medicare will take care of the other one in a few years.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080820080343.htm

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2008) — The proportion of working-age Americans who have medical bill problems or who are paying off medical debt climbed from 34 percent to 41 percent between 2005 and 2007, bringing the total to 72 million, according to recent survey findings from The Commonwealth Fund. In addition, 7 million adults age 65 and over also had problems paying medical bills, for a total of 79 million adults with medical bill problems or medical debt.
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The report finds that in 2007, nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults under age 65, or 116 million people, had medical bill problems or debt, went without needed care because of cost, were uninsured for a time, or were underinsured—insured but had high out-of-pocket medical expenses or deductibles relative to income.