"So, they overextended themselves and THEN lost a job or had a medical emergency. The problem is people choose to live on the edge financially, which I think is irresponsible, especially if you have others who depend on you for their life."

This is exactly true. Someone above mentioned that people buy houses, to get into a good school district. Why can't we allow people in bad school districts to go to another school? I will give you the answer: teacher's unions.

I always try to have at least 6 months (IE: I could survive for six months without a job) salary in the bank. I got laid off a couple of weeks ago and now I'm fine. Many people I know, that decided to live beyond their means, are now worried that if they lose their job, they will be in trouble.

Everyone wants to blame the medical system (which does need work) and ignore personal responsibility. Medical emergencies that result in bankruptcy probably happen to less than 5% of the population. It's almost as bad as the terrorist fear mongering.