Rising costs of care and failing economy drive more Americans into medical debt

A deepening recession that is demolishing jobs and family finances has led more Americans to struggle to pay their medical bills. For years the booming economy camouflaged the burden of medical debt. Patients borrowed against their homes or used credit cards, including some specially designed to pay medical or dental bills. But falling house prices and tightening credit have eliminated those options for many. As a result, the problem of medical debt is climbing the income scale, affecting not just the poor or the uninsured.