What's most likely to bankrupt you

[strollingbones]

Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007, according to a study by Harvard researchers. And in a finding that surprised even the researchers, 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illnesses, including 60.3% who had private coverage, not Medicare or Medicaid.

Medically related bankruptcies have been rising steadily for decades. In 1981, only 8% of families filing for bankruptcy cited a serious medical problem as the reason, while a 2001 study of bankruptcies in five states by the same researchers found that illness or medical bills contributed to 50% of all filings.

.............

"For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection. Most of us have policies with so many loopholes, co-payments and deductibles that illness can put you in the poorhouse," said lead author Himmelstein. "Unless you're Warren Buffett, your family is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy."

What's most likely to bankrupt you - MSN Money


friend has had two bouts with cancer....out of pocket that her good insurance didnt cover....over a million dollars

 

[Neser Boha]

Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007, according to a study by Harvard researchers. And in a finding that surprised even the researchers, 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illnesses, including 60.3% who had private coverage, not Medicare or Medicaid.

Medically related bankruptcies have been rising steadily for decades. In 1981, only 8% of families filing for bankruptcy cited a serious medical problem as the reason, while a 2001 study of bankruptcies in five states by the same researchers found that illness or medical bills contributed to 50% of all filings.

.............

"For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection. Most of us have policies with so many loopholes, co-payments and deductibles that illness can put you in the poorhouse," said lead author Himmelstein. "Unless you're Warren Buffett, your family is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy."

What's most likely to bankrupt you - MSN Money


friend has had two bouts with cancer....out of pocket that her good insurance didnt cover....over a million dollars

I think that's pretty much what Michael Moore's movie Sicko was about.

Health insurance in USA is a big fucking joke.

 

[Skull Pilot]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

 

[editec]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

Where'd you get the 17%?

Here's some interesting stats about bankruptsy filings in this nation

http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/2008/bankrupt_newstat_ftable_jun2008.xls

 

[Skull Pilot]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

Where'd you get the 17%?

Here's some interesting stats about bankruptsy filings in this nation

http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/2008/bankrupt_newstat_ftable_jun2008.xls

I posted a link Ed

* The personal bankruptcy rate was actually higher in Canada in 2006 and 2007 (0.30 percent for both years) than in the United States (0.20 percent and .27 percent).

* Medical spending was only one of several contributing factors in 17 percent of U.S. bankruptcies -- medical debts accounted for only 12 to 13 percent of the total debts among American bankruptcy filers who cited medical debt as one of their reasons for bankruptcy.

* Medical reasons were cited as the primary cause of bankruptcy by approximately 15 percent of bankrupt Canadian seniors (55 years of age and older).

* Non-medical expenditures comprise the majority of debt among bankrupt consumers in both Canada and the United States; the inability to earn sufficient income to cover these costs -- not exposure to uninsured medical costs -- is the real explanation for almost all bankruptcies in either country.

and really, what's so interesting about a spread sheet that only tallies the numbers with no footnotes as to why people were filing?

the whole point here is that people are spouting that medical bill are the biggest reason people file for bankruptcy and it simply is not that big of a crisis in terms of the numbers.

 

[Neser Boha]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

You really don't get it do you?

You don't consider it OUTRAGEOUS that ANYONE went through bankruptcy because of their inability to pay their medical bills despite the fact the have been paying for medical insurance? Seriously?

I wonder how you'd feel about it if the tables turned and it happened to you (not that I wish that it happened to you, of course not).

 

[editec]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

Where'd you get the 17%?

Here's some interesting stats about bankruptsy filings in this nation

http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/2008/bankrupt_newstat_ftable_jun2008.xls

I posted a link Ed

* The personal bankruptcy rate was actually higher in Canada in 2006 and 2007 (0.30 percent for both years) than in the United States (0.20 percent and .27 percent).

* Medical spending was only one of several contributing factors in 17 percent of U.S. bankruptcies -- medical debts accounted for only 12 to 13 percent of the total debts among American bankruptcy filers who cited medical debt as one of their reasons for bankruptcy.

* Medical reasons were cited as the primary cause of bankruptcy by approximately 15 percent of bankrupt Canadian seniors (55 years of age and older).

* Non-medical expenditures comprise the majority of debt among bankrupt consumers in both Canada and the United States; the inability to earn sufficient income to cover these costs -- not exposure to uninsured medical costs -- is the real explanation for almost all bankruptcies in either country.

and really, what's so interesting about a spread sheet that only tallies the numbers with no footnotes as to why people were filing?

the whole point here is that people are spouting that medical bill are the biggest reason people file for bankruptcy and it simply is not that big of a crisis in terms of the numbers.

Interesting?

I can only bring you the known data about filings.

You'll have to find the interest in it.

But it appears to me that about .75% of households are currently filing for bankrupsy annually now.

That's down from 2005, of course.

In 2005 people filed for bankruptsy at a high rate in order to file before the laws regarding how bnakruptsyies changed.

 

[Anguille]

You really don't get it do you?

You don't consider it OUTRAGEOUS that ANYONE went through bankruptcy because of their inability to pay their medical bills despite the fact the have been paying for medical insurance? Seriously?

I wonder how you'd feel about it if the tables turned and it happened to you (not that I wish that it happened to you, of course not).

Some people complain that an 83 year old woman in Sweden was denied a medical procedure yet they seem to feel that inability to afford health care is a good enough reason to just let people die.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Where'd you get the 17%?

Here's some interesting stats about bankruptsy filings in this nation

http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/2008/bankrupt_newstat_ftable_jun2008.xls

I posted a link Ed

* The personal bankruptcy rate was actually higher in Canada in 2006 and 2007 (0.30 percent for both years) than in the United States (0.20 percent and .27 percent).

* Medical spending was only one of several contributing factors in 17 percent of U.S. bankruptcies -- medical debts accounted for only 12 to 13 percent of the total debts among American bankruptcy filers who cited medical debt as one of their reasons for bankruptcy.

* Medical reasons were cited as the primary cause of bankruptcy by approximately 15 percent of bankrupt Canadian seniors (55 years of age and older).

* Non-medical expenditures comprise the majority of debt among bankrupt consumers in both Canada and the United States; the inability to earn sufficient income to cover these costs -- not exposure to uninsured medical costs -- is the real explanation for almost all bankruptcies in either country.

and really, what's so interesting about a spread sheet that only tallies the numbers with no footnotes as to why people were filing?

the whole point here is that people are spouting that medical bill are the biggest reason people file for bankruptcy and it simply is not that big of a crisis in terms of the numbers.

Interesting?

I can only bring you the known data about filings.

You'll have to find the interest in it.

But it appears to me that about .75% of households are currently filing for bankrupsy annually now.

That's down from 2005, of course.

In 2005 people filed for bankruptsy at a high rate in order to file before the laws regarding how bnakruptsyies changed.

if you bothered to read the link i provided, you'd see the piece used data from 2006 and 2007

 

[Skull Pilot]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

You really don't get it do you?

You don't consider it OUTRAGEOUS that ANYONE went through bankruptcy because of their inability to pay their medical bills despite the fact the have been paying for medical insurance? Seriously?

I wonder how you'd feel about it if the tables turned and it happened to you (not that I wish that it happened to you, of course not).

why would I consider it outrageous that a person did not bother to educate him or herself about their insurance policies?

God forbid a person actually read what they sign. Maybe a different policy would have been better or a second policy to fill the gaps of the first.

But you'd rather blame everyone else but the people who didn't bother to actually think about their insurance.

Some people complain that an 83 year old woman in Sweden was denied a medical procedure yet they seem to feel that inability to afford health care is a good enough reason to just let people die.

I never complained about some elderly foreigner getting or not getting anything.

I have always said that people should be more responsible in their choices and shlould make an effort to educate themselves as to their situation so they can actually make informed decisions rather than trusting the government to look out for them.

 

[Skull Pilot]

And I would like to ask what's so bad about filing bankruptcy?

Businesses do it all the time.

You can file bankruptcy and in most cases still keep your house and cars. sure your credit takes a hit but you can rebuild credit in a few short years if you do it right.

 

[KittenKoder]

The one thing that would bankrupt me, if the tech industry goes completely belly up due to the idiots in charge thinking they can force technology onto people and businesses ...

Health care ... meh, I'm already on state and federal health care for life ...

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

There are worse things then bankruptcy, Government control over everything and enslaving the next 10 generation is one of them

 

[Darkwind]

U.S. MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES A MYTH; PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY RATE HIGHER IN CANADA

in 2007, .27% of the population filed for bankruptcy.

If 17% of the .27% were because of medical bill then,

A WHOPPING .046% of Americans filed for bankruptcy due in part because of medical bills or 160,650 people out of 350,000,000

so yeah lets saddle 349,839,350 with higher taxes for .046% (or .00046 out of every 100 people) for the bill. Doesn't sound like such a crisis when you look at it that way.

it's cheaper to let them go through bankruptcy than to pass government run health care.

Thanks for that link. That is an interesting bit of data.