Do Americans go broke over medical bills?

[Luddly Neddite]

NerdWallet Health finds Medical Bankruptcy accounts for majority of personal bankruptcies | Health


56M Americans under age 65 will have trouble paying medical bills
– Over 35M American adults (ages 19-64) will be contacted by collections agencies for unpaid medical bills
– Nearly 17M American adults (ages 19-64) will receive a lower credit rating on account of their high medical bills
– Over 15M American adults (ages 19-64) will use up all their savings to pay medical bills
– Over 11M American adults (ages 19-64) will take on credit card debt to pay off their hospital bills
– Nearly 10M American adults (ages 19-64) will be unable to pay for basic necessities like rent, food, and heat due to their medical bills
Over 16M children live in households struggling with medical bills
Despite having year-round insurance coverage, 10M insured Americans ages 19-64 will face bills they are unable to pay
1.7M Americans live in households that will declare bankruptcy due to their inability to pay their medical bills
– Three states will account for over one-quarter of those living in medical-related bankruptcy: California (248,002), Illinois (113,524), and Florida (99,780)
To save costs, over 25M adults (ages 19-64) will not take their prescription drugs as indicated, including skipping doses, taking less medicine than prescribed or delaying a refill


Medical Bills Are the Biggest Cause of US Bankruptcies: Study

Bankruptcies resulting from unpaid medical bills will affect nearly 2 million people this year—making health care the No. 1 cause of such filings, and outpacing bankruptcies due to credit-card bills or unpaid mortgages, according to new data. And even having health insurance doesn't buffer consumers against financial hardship. ...

Medical Bankruptcy by Age
Age Range % of Total
Bankruptcies
2013, Estimated US Medical-Related
Bankruptcies 2013,
Estimated Size of
Household People Living
in Households
with medical-Related
Bankruptcy
2013, Estimated
18-24 2.3% 14,618 2.41 35,229
25-34 18.7% 120,708 2.86 344,622
35-44 28.9% 186,812 3.35 624,888
45-54 26.4% 170,875 2.81 480,159
55-64 15.8% 102,080 2.18 222,534
65+ 8.0% 51,719 1.76 90,767

In another thread, someone said that Americans don't go broke over medical bills. That's simply not true.

 

[BobPlumb]

And with Obamacare Americans will still be going broke over medical bills. That's ok though, because the law was passed with good intentions even though many of those intentions were lies. I'm still waiting on that cost curve to be bent down by $2,500.

 

[Political Junky]

Yes, we're the only country where people go bankrupt because of medical bills.

 

[USNavyVet]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

 

[Political Junky]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

 

[Stephanie]

Yeah, we're the only country where the young isn't paying for the old...But Obama made sure he changed that for you youngsters with, OScamcare

you voted for it, enjoy

 

[Luddly Neddite]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

And, you can run up that several hundred thousand dollar bill in less than a week.

rw's can try to blame the patients for this but, fact is, it could happen to them too. And, people like Stephanie (who is wrong when she writes, "... we're the only country where the young isn't paying for the old...") can dance around it but she has said she gets Medicare and Medicaid. She'll get the care she needs.

Not everyone qualifies for those programs.

What about them?

 

[Mr. H.]

I will go broke paying the 150% increase in my premiums under the ACA.

You happy now?

 

[Pop23]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

A better idea is to force me to pay your bill?

 

[Stephanie]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

A better idea is to force me to pay your bill?

that's what leeches believe...They live in our Society so we should work to take care of them too and deprive our families, so what they don't care

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Yes, we're the only country where people go bankrupt because of medical bills.

Lies make Baby Jesus cry.

Consider Canada. Our neighbor to the north features a government-run, single-payer healthcare system where private insurance is outlawed for
procedures covered under the law. So you'd think that Canada would have a lower rate of bankruptcy than the United States, what with one big potential
cause of bankruptcy -- the cost of health care -- absorbed by the government.

But according to researchers at the Fraser Institute, a nonpartisan Canadian think tank, bankruptcy rates are statistically the same on both sides of the
49th parallel. In both the United States and Canada, less than one-third of 1 percent of families file for bankruptcy each year.

Further, even with a socialized healthcare system, some Canadians go bankrupt because of medical expenses. Approximately 15 percent of bankrupt
Canadian seniors -- those 55 and older -- cited medical reasons, including uninsured expenses, as the main culprit for their insolvency.

Medical bankruptcy: Fact or fiction? | TheHill

 

[MeBelle]

NerdWallet Health finds Medical Bankruptcy accounts for majority of personal bankruptcies | Health

Money quotes from your links:

“Insurance is no silver bullet,” says LaMontagne. “Even with insurance coverage, we expect 10 million Americans will face bills they are unable to pay.”

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148

And if you think only Americans without health insurance face financial troubles, think again. NerdWallet estimates nearly 10 million adults with year-round health-insurance coverage will still accumulate medical bills that they can't pay off this year.
High-deductible insurance plans requiring consumers to pay more out-of-pocket costs are a challenge for many households.

"With an average American family bringing home $50,000 in income, a high medical bill and a high-deductible insurance plan can quickly become something they are unable to pay," LaMontagne said. "If you have an out-of-pocket maximum of $5,000 or $10,000, that's really tough," he said.

 

[Stephanie]

They have to sell this lie, just like you can keep your policy if you like it or they couldn't of sold this fascist piece of Federal Government pos called, ObamaCare

The biggest SCAM played on the American people ever

 

[Pop23]

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

A better idea is to force me to pay your bill?

that's what leeches believe...They live in our Society so we should work to take care of them too and deprive our families, so what they don't care

Ask me and I will show charity

Force me and expect to be treated as a thief.

 

[USNavyVet]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

And there are services to take care of issues like that. But if you haven't worked and don't pay rent or mortgage there really isn't much out there. You can put off paying hospital bills.

 

[OnePercenter]

I will go broke paying the 150% increase in my premiums under the ACA.

You happy now?

You don't get any subsidies?

 

[OnePercenter]

If you can't pay your medical bills then you likely aren't paying your rent, car payment, etc. If you lose your job because you can't work, or simply can't work due to illness, then none of your bills get paid and all of them lead to bankruptcy, not just the medical bills. Besides, Obamacare doesn't do anything about that issue anyway.

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

A better idea is to force me to pay your bill?

You already do.

 

[OnePercenter]

A $50,000. hospital bill can be devastating to an average family who was denied insurance for a pre-existing condition, let alone a several hundred thousand dollar bill.

A better idea is to force me to pay your bill?

that's what leeches believe...They live in our Society so we should work to take care of them too and deprive our families, so what they don't care

The leeches are the ones that don't want ACA.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I will go broke paying the 150% increase in my premiums under the ACA.

You happy now?

You don't get any subsidies?

He will once obammy care finishes with him.

 

[OnePercenter]

I will go broke paying the 150% increase in my premiums under the ACA.

You happy now?

You don't get any subsidies?

He will once obammy care finishes with him.

Or it's a lie.