Medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies

[RustonNative]

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Department of Sociology, Ohio University, and Harvard Law School, Cambridge recently released a report in the Journal of American Medicine showing that Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies.

An interesting read...

BACKGROUND: Our 2001 study in 5 states found that medical problems contributed to at least 46.2% of all bankruptcies. Since then, health costs and the numbers of un- and underinsured have increased, and bankruptcy laws have tightened.

METHODS: We surveyed a random national sample of 2314 bankruptcy filers in 2007, abstracted their court records, and interviewed 1032 of them. We designated bankruptcies as “medical” based on debtors’ stated reasons for filing, income loss due to illness, and the magnitude of their medical debts.

RESULTS: Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. The rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Most medical debtors were well educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations. Three quarters had health insurance. Using identical definitions in 2001 and 2007, the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6%. In logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic factors, the odds that a bankruptcy had a medical cause was 2.38-fold higher in 2007 than in 2001.

CONCLUSIONS: Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies.

We should really care about this data. 75% of these *HAD* health insurance. That's significant, and these numbers seem to be trending upward.

Source (Full paper in PDF)

[Dirtydawg]

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Department of Sociology, Ohio University, and Harvard Law School, Cambridge recently released a report in the Journal of American Medicine showing that Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies.

An interesting read...

BACKGROUND: Our 2001 study in 5 states found that medical problems contributed to at least 46.2% of all bankruptcies. Since then, health costs and the numbers of un- and underinsured have increased, and bankruptcy laws have tightened.

METHODS: We surveyed a random national sample of 2314 bankruptcy filers in 2007, abstracted their court records, and interviewed 1032 of them. We designated bankruptcies as “medical” based on debtors’ stated reasons for filing, income loss due to illness, and the magnitude of their medical debts.

RESULTS: Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. The rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Most medical debtors were well educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations. Three quarters had health insurance. Using identical definitions in 2001 and 2007, the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6%. In logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic factors, the odds that a bankruptcy had a medical cause was 2.38-fold higher in 2007 than in 2001.

CONCLUSIONS: Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies.

We should really care about this data. 75% of these *HAD* health insurance. That's significant, and these numbers seem to be trending upward.

Source (Full paper in PDF)

They can add one more to that number.

[Abominable Gorilla]

We should really care about this data. 75% of these *HAD* health insurance. That's significant, and these numbers seem to be trending upward.

So then, you agree that providing a health insurance option for everyone is not the answer?

[nadB]

We should really care about this data. 75% of these *HAD* health insurance. That's significant, and these numbers seem to be trending upward.

Source (Full paper in PDF)

Oh sure, "62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical".

Of course, they fail to mention that gobs of these folks were probably living paycheck to paycheck, were not bothering to save for a "rainy day", and were carrying humongous credit card balances and other debt.

(Using government debt data and census data, IndexCreditCards.com has determined that the average American adult is carrying $4,013 in revolving debt (mainly credit card debt) and the average American household is carrying $7,861 in such debt.) http://www.indexcreditcards.com/creditcarddebt/


Bet all your sources in the paper above favor the "public option", what ??


"Figures don't lie, but Liars figure"

[DogtorEvil]

New Entry for Worst Study of the Year Award

http://www.john-goodman-blog.com/new...he-year-award/

The authors are leaders of the Physicians for a National Health Program, who have promoted government-monopoly medicine for decades. Unfortunately, the media swallowed their new report uncritically.

As with previous studies of medical bankruptcy, this study puts forward a number of definitions of "medical bankruptcy" and defines any bankruptcy with any one of these conditions as suffering medical bankruptcy. The one that immediately stands out is "medical bills over $5,000 or 10 percent of household income on medical care." (So, if Donald Trump had gone bankrupt in 2007 with $5001 of medical bills, he would be "medically bankrupt.")

http://www.john-goodman-blog.com/new...he-year-award/

[DogtorEvil]

Elizabeth Warren and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Utterly Misleading Bankruptcy Study

http://business.theatlantic.com/2009...ptcy_study.php

Elizabeth Warren has another study out showing that medical expenses contribute to more than half of all bankruptcies--indeed, this time, it's 70%, up from the 50% she found in 2001.

Now, it is possible that this is true. The fact that it seems to disagree with every other study I've ever read that is not authored by Elizabeth Warren, and also, the self-reports of the people in her study (only about a third of whom attribute their bankruptcy to a health problem) could just be a fluke. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's wrong.

Yet upon closer examination, it turns out that it is not just wrong, but actively, aggressively wrong. Warren and her co-authors have obscured important and obvious facts that call the integrity of the work into serious question.

The text itself raises a huge red flags. It's hard to believe that more than half of people who have been pushed into bankruptcy by a medical issue don't understand this fact. Perhaps they are not the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree, but could it really be true that most people catapaulted into a financial crisis by their medical bills don't even notice that health care expenses are their main problem?

[Abominable Gorilla]

Bet all your sources in the paper above favor the "public option", what ??

Well, if the majority of those people had medical insurance anyway, what difference would a public option make?

[RustonNative]

Well, if the majority of those people had medical insurance anyway, what difference would a public option make?

I wonder how many were dropped for "pre-existing conditions".

I think our current insurance coverage requirements aren't nearly as "consumer friendly" as they need to be.

[CARTEK]

Researchers at the Department of Medicine, Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Department of Sociology, Ohio University, and Harvard Law School, Cambridge recently released a report in the Journal of American Medicine showing that Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies.

An interesting read...

BACKGROUND: Our 2001 study in 5 states found that medical problems contributed to at least 46.2% of all bankruptcies. Since then, health costs and the numbers of un- and underinsured have increased, and bankruptcy laws have tightened.

METHODS: We surveyed a random national sample of 2314 bankruptcy filers in 2007, abstracted their court records, and interviewed 1032 of them. We designated bankruptcies as “medical” based on debtors’ stated reasons for filing, income loss due to illness, and the magnitude of their medical debts.

RESULTS: Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. The rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Most medical debtors were well educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations. Three quarters had health insurance. Using identical definitions in 2001 and 2007, the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6%. In logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic factors, the odds that a bankruptcy had a medical cause was 2.38-fold higher in 2007 than in 2001.

CONCLUSIONS: Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies.

We should really care about this data. 75% of these *HAD* health insurance. That's significant, and these numbers seem to be trending upward.

Source (Full paper in PDF)

Saddle up...the lemmings are heading for the cliff!

[DogtorEvil]

II think our current insurance coverage requirements aren't nearly as "consumer friendly" as they need to be.

This is true. Are you willing to pay for making insurance more "consumer friendly"?

[CARTEK]

You want consumer friendly insurance...get the government out of it!

[nadB]

Well, if the majority of those people had medical insurance anyway, what difference would a public option make?

It's the first step toward the government monopoly, duh.

[DogtorEvil]

You want consumer friendly insurance...get the government out of it!

ding ding ding

[DogtorEvil]

when did this whole health insurance thing get started?

[atobulldog]

Haven't you seen the E Orum Young commercials, alot of famous people went bankrupt and went on to succeed. While I concede it is not the best option, it is not the end of the world.