Even if this point were granted, the timeline is the issue at hand. When cost is an immediate and pressing concern, people delay the decision to seek out medical attention.

Disagree. I have many family members who I cannot convinvce to go to a doctor, for thay are terrified of financial ruin. Literally will not go near a healthcare facility.

Then there are the family and acquaintances who go to the hospital Emergency Room, because although they have no insurance, an Emergency facility is generally required to treat them.

On one hand, we have people who do not receive routine care, who only seek healthcare long after a point where early diagnosis or treatment would have been inexpensive.

On the other hand, we have people who use a military-grade triage center for flu symptoms.

Both situations are ruinously expensive. And continue to contribute to trillion-dollar government-budget shortfalls. To say nothing of the inevitable, preventable zombie apocalypse.