Yes, some people do have choices, but not everyone. It's impossible for everyone to pay the cost of proper health care. And, since it's a necessity, debt or spending life savings are choices we're forced into. We can't expect or allow everyone to just die on the streets because of the high cost of health care. We are a humane and civil society that tends to care for others, even it means a portion of our tax dollars are spent on the poor and less fortunate among us.When families have to make these decisions, when it's presented as a choice between blowing the family savings or squeezing every last minute out of life, people make better decisions. My own father was faced with that dilemma, and chose to accept reality and leave his wife with a decent retirement, rather than live his last few years clinging to life in a hospital bed and leave her with nothing.
"Some people" aren't the problem. The problem isn't social safety nets. The problem is that we're trying to fit everyone into those safety nets, which defeats the purpose. The only way we can help out the people who fall through the cracks is if most of us are paying our own way.
Not so long ago, liberals were claiming that health care is a right. All because of "some people" in safety net cracks. After ACA, there are still people in those cracks. It's time for them to start pushing for health care as "right" again, most likely in next election cycle.