[sweeps]

cercis, I think you may be missing the point. I'm not saying that medical bills are inconsequential. But you know what, they're a necessary expense and as you pointed out, just one line item in a long list of a person's expenditures. The question is why are we singling out medical expenses? Why aren't we focusing on the cost of groceries, for example? I'm sure 100% of those bankruptcy filers had to pay for substantial grocery bills. The reason is this is simply a political statement to change the health care system in this country. Heck, I'll be the first to agree the health care system in this country needs a major overhaul. But let's stop blaming everything else for our financial problems and start taking responsibility for living below our means.

EDIT: And I'd like to add that many of the people who do the complaining do not participate in the democratic process. I would really like to cross-reference the list of people in this Harvard study with the list of people who vote in Presidential and Congressional elections. My "gorilla dust" tells me that the correlation would be low.