The manager of a Mexican restaurant in Mitchell, Eulalio Castellanos, says rent and groceries were a higher priority for him than getting health insurance.  But after a bout with cancer, Castellanos faced a half-a-million-dollar hospital debt.

Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls discounted the bill, which has been reduced to $149,000, and submitted it to Davison County.  In South Dakota, counties are responsible for paying the emergency medical bills of people who can't pay for their own care.

County commissioners rejected the bill, saying Castellanos made enough money to purchase health insurance but chose not to -- disqualifying him from county help.  The hospital plans to appeal the commission's decision. The case could end up in court.  Castellanos, a native of Mexico, has been putting in more hours
at the restaurant lately and calls himself a cancer survivor.  He was one of about 90,000 people in South Dakota -- or 11 percent of the population -- without health insurance.