I caught a diagnosis of cancer last year. Fortunately, I'm in the US and have a good PPO. I only wiped out half of my emergency savings in the last 12 months. I had the foresight to keep 12 months of expenses on hand, 6 months like they advise is the bare minimum.

Less than three months passed between the diagnosis and when I first got sent to collections.

You wouldn't believe the deluge of bills that come in from doctors, imaging centers, and various labs. If you need to get in an ambulance, you may get bills from both the ambulance company AND the fire fighers who show up and check out the action while the paramedics work. That audience alone set me back $225. I think the ambulance wanted another $200 on top of that. They dinged my insurance $2800. I was driven 700 feet to the emergency room. I don't recall a whole lot, but I asked for and received 7 heated blankets in the ER. $50 each.

The bill that got me sent to collections was for less than $60 for a lab in Texas. They sent two bills that got buried in the pile next to the door. At the time I got the collections call, I found it challenging to walk from my bed to the mailbox. My surgeon wanted me to walk one mile per day. My credit is about 80 points lower now.

I had hoped that the ACA would be a stepping stone to a better health system in this country. It could still happen, but not while we allow corporations to seek rents as we all inevitably fall ill. Until then, OP is right, don't get sick in America.