Do you feel the way someone pays their medical debt indicates the way they will pay their other debts (i.e mortgage,auto, ccs)?

We've all heard the phrase "perception is reality". This may be most true when in comes to healthcare, as there are multiple realities in play here. Sociologists might well define it as a socio-economic-political pecking order of importance, so to speak. Whatever it is, one thing is clear .... it is their reality. And as such, when times get tough, as they currently are, and the bottom falls out for some, as it currently has, and Murphy's Law prevails by bestowing upon them some nasty, and expensive, health problem, money becomes a very precious, but limited, commodity. The result is that a person's perceptions, or pecking order of importance, will usually dictate how that money is spent. Food for the family will always trump medical bills, for as Rena so rightly pointed out, a person can always present to an ER and get treated. And when a lack of funds causes people have to forego certain other "perceived necessities", be it cable TV or cell phones, in order to provide food and shelter, items further down on their pecking order are eschewed in order to preserve their fundamental perceptions. While it is also said that changing the perspective changes the reality, I suspect that when a person sees their world crumbling around them, they cling to their perceptions even more, just as they cling to their faith in times of trouble. That is simply human nature at work.

The general public has a different view of medical expenses. First, if they do not pay, the worst thing that can happen is that they will be turned to collections or have a judgement placed on them. There is no fear of losing any possessions. To add to that, if they do not pay, they can still obtain care by going to a hospital emergency room for care, and the physicians are usually unaware that this particular person has a bad debt through the office, so there is, again, no loss for the non-paying patient. They will fear losing their home and/or cable and/or automobile before they will fear needing health care. Those items will take priority over medical bills.