[Microinsurancefocus] USA Medical bills play a role in 62% of bankruptcies, Harvard study says

[Microinsurance Network]

The study found that medical bills, plus related problems such as lost wages
for the ill and their caregivers, contributed to 62% of all bankruptcies
filed in 2007. On the campaign trail last year and in the White House this
year, Obama had cited an earlier study by the same authors showing that such
expenses played a part in 55% of bankruptcies in 2001.

 

Medical insurance isn't much help, either. About 78% of bankruptcy filers
burdened by healthcare expenses were insured, according to the survey, to be
published in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

"Health insurance is not a guarantee that illness won't bankrupt you," said
Steffie Woolhandler, one of the authors, a practicing physician and an
associate medical professor at Harvard.

 

"Lots of health insurance comes with big co-payments, deductibles and
uncovered services," she said. "So you can be insured and still end up with
big bills. At the same time, even if you have good insurance through your
employer, you can lose it if you get sick and can't work."

 

Link to article
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-medical-bankruptcy4-2009jun04,0,419339
8.story

 

 

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