Many people are cash-poor, yes, but I am surprised that over half the population has no cash equivalents, hard assets, or access to credit (even from a relative or friend).
N.B. This is not meant to be financial advice, but just to point out that people usually have many more options than they think they do.
I'm also extremely thankful for a couple folks that approached me to write some web apps (php/rails) for them. Without them those last few medical payments would have crushed us.
My crappy situation came from double job troubles (gf and I) + dying car + hospital visits.
We've stabilized finally and now it's time to get out of this hole and get my life back together.
Don't beggar yourself to pay medical bills in the amount they originally ask on the timescales they originally ask.
House: It would take you 6 months to sell a house (good luck with all those foreclosures out there), 3 months to get a loan against your house (hard to get a loan these days).
401k: It would take you 1 month to withdraw from your 401k (if your 401k plan allows it).
Car/TV: There's an abundance of car/TV inventory out there, and it might take 2-3 months to move those.
Relatives: if half of Americans don't have $2000 for rainy day funds, chances are you're not gonna have much luck asking your relatives.
So realistically, if you needed $2000 tomorrow to bail out your family member (or $40k for that surgery tomorrow), it wold be very hard.
Also, most Brokers will allow you to borrow against the value of your IRA, or your 401k with very short notice. If you have a house and a mortgage you probably also qualify for an unsecured line of credit and could get a cash advance immediately.
The surgery example is a non sequitur because hospitals have very liberal payment terms and are willing to negotiate costs down significantly for people with financial hardships.
Hard to get a line of credit when 1 out of 4 mortgages are underwater http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125903489722661849.html