6 Dec 2024 5:43 pm
probably there is no way to quantify how many declare bankruptcy for reason X or reason Y. I have declared bankruptcy and had serious medical debt but the straw that broke the camel's back was having our two cars break down at the exact same time. So for data collection, the reason would be cars breaking down that we owed money on. Most of the debt was tied to having a ruptured appendix when I was 18 and in high school. Coming from a poor background, I was not in the position to pay $35,000 in debt. Parents did not have insurance to say the least.ConsRule » 06 Dec 2024, 6:32 pm » wrote: ↑ I have repeatedly searched at times over the years when this debate comes up. I have never found any data on how many people with health insurance file bankruptcy.
Also, even the authors of one of the most often cited studies on the topic admit using their data to make conclusions on specific reason is flawed. Since there is no way to know, other than having medical debt as the ONLY debt in a filing, what caused the person to file bankruptcy. Even though listed debt is in descending order of total, it is erroneous to assume any one debt is the reason for the filing. The may have encountered significant medical debt AFTER spending a lifetime accumulating debt in many other forms. However, if medical debt is one of the top listed items it is included in a total of bankruptcies "due to medical debt."
Profit is not evil. Companies need profit to survive. Anyone can point to a few anecdotal examples and cry "See...I told you." In my life, I have had three stays in the hospital lasting more than a week. Two directly related to my heart issues and one after a near fatal car accident. All three resulted in a total bill in excess of $400,000. I have never had care denied by an insurance company. Besides, even when someone files bankruptcy, the debts don't magically disappear. They are paid by others in the form of higher premiums, higher cost and higher interest rates.
Some people simple never come to understand the truth behind TANSTAAFL!