The median household income in New York is $50,000. I would rather live in London than in a rural area of the US - thanks. You talk as if people have no preferences besides maximizing the salary to cost of living ratio.

> So basically, insurance said they would not pay for the clinic this person selected and since they have zero agency they kept going and got the bill that they were told they were going to get.

I can’t figure out exactly what you’re trying to say here. It seems you are trying to find some way to convince yourself that these people deserved to get a $500,000 bill so that you can kid yourself that this could never happen to you. Yes, it’s their fault for failing to fly to another state in the middle of a medical crisis to find an in network provider, in the absence of any clear information regarding treatment costs from from medical staff or the insurance company.

> Did they actually pay the bill? Of course not. They took a credit hit.

We don’t know from the article how much they ended up paying. In any case, taking a credit hit is not a trivial thing. In your earlier comments, for example, you clearly placed a large value on home ownership. It’s difficult to buy a home with bad credit.

>What was one individuals name who this happened to. Not a study. Not "we think it happens". What is the persons name?

This article collects a number of stories involving named individuals:

https://www.bustle.com/p/these-20-stories-refute-the-idea-th...