Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in just six years, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Can I File Bankruptcy Just on Medical Bills? : Bankruptcy Law Network
High medical bills don'thave to lead to bankruptcy - The Boston Globe
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our health care system is designed to generate profit NOT to provide health care ....so cheep is better ...the idea that private health care insurance companies provide the BEST health care is wrong ..their goal is to profit and to profit you MUST CUT COSTS ..cutting cost means a lower health care service or insufficient health care for the average person ..of course if you are financially well off you don't need to worry about costs ....grrr.
the private (investor-owned ) insurance companies make outrageous profits by refusing to give cover to high-risk patients and limiting services to others... they also umm..ste@l about 20 percent of the premiums for profits and overhead...
this means.... high quality and very expensive health care for those who can pay ..(they are maybe 10%of the population) and poor quality and limited services for everybody else ...plus we have 15% of the population NOT covered ..this is unacceptable
the Senate finance committee's hearings on health reform did NOT include testimony from any advocate for single-payer insurance...i mean....W T F ?..... the private insurance companies have bought the senate..this is wrong..
The Republican dream... Is to extract enormous profits from ill and injured Americans.
The Dem dream - to extract enormous sums of other people's money.
What I find amazing is the fact Republicans claim they never get si.ck, they never get injured, and they never need medical care.
Oh yeah, and that in the entire history of the world... No Republican ever filed bankruptcy.
Now do you believe that? Every Republican will swear that it is true.
It's the Chicken Hawk Phenomenon, and sees it's origin in the GOP version of the New Testament.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for my best friend.
What I find amazing is the fact Republicans claim they never get sick, they never get injured, and they never need medical care.
Oh yeah, and that in the entire history of the world... No Republican ever filed bankruptcy.
Now do you believe that? Every Republican will swear that it is true.
This isn't news.
When did the movie SICKO come out?
something like 2 years ago
Documentary, Jan 20th, 2001 was when it was launched.
It is not rocket science to understand how all of these things are connected to the economy. You pay high premiums - the doctor doesn't try to cure you or find what is really wrong - he puts you on medicine to mask the symptoms now you have a monthly bill for pills you probably don't need - then you start missing work (lost pay) - (premiums go up each year) - You have a heart attack and major surgery that you insurance didn't fully cover and you are stuck with about ($10,000). and it goes on and on
Between your prescriptions
high premiums
balance you owe after insurance pays their "share"
lost wages
You are in financial trouble especially if you were patriotic and went out and spent every dime like your government told you to.
Well, the Chapter 7 I just filed was from unemployment. I couldn't afford to run up health care bills.
Prevention!!!!...we live in a sick care environment. People need to realize that maintaining good health requires a strong immune system that can only be achieved by a good nutritious diet that includes fruits nuts and veges, exercise, less stress, meditation and most of all it requires the American people to stop eating "dead" food. All the crap we put into our body that sits on grocery shelves that have no benefit at all but to make us feel full.
Prevention requires education!!!!!!!!
I just gave some....
I honestly believe that most people know what is not good for them, they simply don't care. I have also wondered if there was something in junk food other than MSG that keeps people eating when they don't really want anymore.
I had a student in middle school that used to drink a frutopia and 3 Little Debbies for lunch every day. I told her to examine the sugar and add it up each day and tried to talk to her about Diabetes and obesity. She did understand - - she said she liked them so . . . it was like talking to a wall
No kidding - I am sick of seeing people pile so much on plates in buffets as well.
Message to Corporate America and to american legislators:
When you loot a people and a country for 50 years, it will go broke one day - disregarding, how rich the people and the country have been at the beginning of the looting.
One of the worst is Dianne Feinstein...
Why? Do tell.
As a someone who went from group insurance to self insure - I can say the whole medical billing system is a shell game. Even if you are getting a routine blood test for example - they won't tell you how much it is. That needs to stop.
I am self insured, and I know what my cost is, they send me an invoice with the complete cost and I have to pay my share. Maybe you have a thrifty insurance company that is paperless...
this is just post phoning problems until they become a catastrophe.. after that there will be no middle class to f! ght for .....people have the right to a secure affordable health care services .......we are spending billions on w@rs in the name of national security and SAVING peoples lives ..BUT we don't provide people with health care coverage ....millions d !e from preventable conditions due to complications ..and many more could have survived if they got access to early health care services ...our broken health care system is bankrupting not just middle class people but also business ...just look at the car industry ..and many untold stories of small business that went belly up because of the soaring health care costs ...a single payer health care system is the cheapest and it will cover everybody.. we will all carry the cost as a responsible society..the healthy and the s! ck the young and the old .we will all contribute to the money pool ....the reason why SPH is being blocked is because of the insurance companies lobby and the !deological empty-heads ...
man i am too tired.... but if you're interested ...check it out .... www.pnhp.org/
this is a re-post
nice one ....grrrr....this is just "postponing"....sorry
That's what imperiums use to do to their plebejans...
this is just post phoning problems until they become a catastrophe.. after that there will be no middle class to f!ght for .....people have the right to a secure affordable health care services .......we are spending billions on w@rs in the name of national security and SAVING peoples lives ..BUT we don't provide people with health care coverage ....millions d!e from preventable conditions due to complications ..and many more could have survived if they got access to early health care services ...our broken health care system is bankrupting not just middle class people but also business ...just look at the car industry ..and many untold stories of small business that went belly up because of the soaring health care costs ...a single payer health care system is the cheapest and it will cover everybody.. we will all carry the cost as a responsible society..the healthy and the sick the young and the old .we will all contribute to the money pool ....the reason why SPH is being blocked is because of the insurance companies lobby and the ideological empty heads ...
man i am too tired.... but if you're interested ...check it out .... www.pnhp.org/
HR-676--Medicare for ALL!
http://www.pnhp.org/change/
Stand up-- no more bending over for these politicians who are on the take and support the parasitic health insurance industry and big pharma. No more!
This report is a farce. If you make $30,000, and you have a $3,000 medical bill, and you have to declare bankruptcy for a $20,000 credit card bill filled with xboxes and vacations, they consider that bankruptcy due to medical expense.
Read the last graph. If you declare bankruptcy, and have a medical bill more than 10% of your income, then they decided that was the reason.
Seattle is back again, standing up for the scummy insurance companies! lol.
You seriously misrepresent what it says:
While only 29 percent directly blamed medical bills for their bankruptcy, 62 percent had medical bills that totaled more than 10 percent of family income, said an illness was responsible, had lost income due to illness or some other medical factor.
_________________
That means that 62% had medical bills that were MORE than 10% of their FAMILY income, and further that an illness and/or some other medical problem caused the loss of that income.
Only 29% directly blamed medical bills for their bankruptcy.
Thanks Carolab.
Seattle is pro health insurance.
One of my close friends is a Virginia bankruptcy
attorney. According to him, most of his bankrupcy cases
are due to medical bills.
I am so glad I retired to a country in Europe, especially when I read articles like this. I am on a single payer system with options to go,private if I want. I contribute about $80 U.S a month into the system and I will never go bankrupt because of medical bills The doctor and the dentist I have here are as good if not better than the ones I had in the states, the U.S system sucks
You say this but...can you honestly say you enjoy living in "Eurpoe"?....and also your 80$ is more then a lot of healthcare per month in the U.S. I pay 150 a month with Aetna, and have had quite a few surgeries. Why am I not Bankrupt?
First of all, whats Eurpoe? Second, ExPatriot pays much less than you do a month and he doesnt have to worry about his rate all of a sudden going up or his health insurance randomly dropping him at the first sign of illness. Millions of people in the states deal with that every day. And Ill bet with what you pay for health insurance, the coverage you get is pretty abysmal. Ill bet your deductible is through the roof.
How can anyone enjoy living in Europe or "Eurpoe" as you say. You're kidding, right????
Oh-- it must be scary all that culture and socialized medicine--oh my!
I just bet you pay 150.00 per month. You're full of it. How old are you, 12?
because you work for an insurance company and you lie a lot
You're so full of it. Do pretel in what fantasyland you pay Aetna $150 a month. That is a lie in and of itself. Furthermore when I did court work Aetna was constantly being sued for failing to pay, they always had some excuse as to why it wasn't covered. They are notorious for dropping people when they develop problems long term.
Yes I do enjoy living in Europe and my $80 a month covers all prscription drugs and all dental care, does yours?
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First Posted: 06- 4-09 01:36 AM | Updated: 06- 4-09 01:50 AM