Medical Debt and Bankruptcy
Medical debt is one of the leading causes that drives individuals to make the decision to file for bankruptcy. Unfortunately, astronomical medical debts can occur to any person at any time. Even those people who have reliable health insurance can begin to face serious medical debts if they develop a significant or lifelong medical condition. While the nation is currently struggling with attempting to find solutions to medical coverage for all Americans, many Americans simply do not have any health insurance at all. As politicians continue to make decisions regarding health insurance, many people throughout the United States continue to face crushing medical debt. When people feel that they have more medical debt than they could ever repay with their given income, they often turn to bankruptcy as an option.
Medical Debt Bankruptcies
The American Journal of Public Health published data from a survey of physicians, sociologists, and attorneys regarding the intersection between medical debt and bankruptcy. The survey indicated that two-thirds of all persons making the decision to declare bankruptcy did so as a result of medical expenses, or as a response to losing work due to an injury or illness leaving them unable to return to the workplace. In both cases, the medical issue was responsible for their decision to ultimately declare bankruptcy.
Health Insurance and Bankruptcy
As everyone knows, the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 in order to attempt to alleviate some of the financial distress caused due to medical expenses. However, medical debt continues to be a primary factor in two-thirds of all bankruptcy cases still in the United States 10 years later. Even those who have extremely good health care coverage can be left financially ruined through substantial medical debts. Any person who was involved in an accident can need countless surgeries and continued medical treatments. Others who develop a chronic illness or disease may require consistent medical treatments and monitoring. Statistically speaking, even after the new healthcare laws were passed in the United States of America, actually a slightly higher percentage of individuals are declaring bankruptcy as a result of medical debt.
Bankruptcy and Your Medical Debt
If you are facing serious medical debts, you may be considering filing for bankruptcy to eliminate those debts. The good news is that because medical debt is considered an unsecured form of debt, and a non-priority debt, you may use bankruptcy to completely discharge and remove all of your medical debt permanently. However, because bankruptcies can only be filed every few years, it is imperative that your bankruptcy is filed correctly in order to get the financial relief you seek, and ensure that your legal rights are protected.
Contact an Experienced Bankruptcy Attorney Today
The entire purpose of bankruptcy was to provide people with the opportunity to receive a clean slate financial aid when catastrophic events happened in their life. Visit with an experienced West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorney at Kelley Kaplan & Eller at 561-264-6850 today for a consultation. We can examine your specific facts and circumstances, and help you determine how you can have your medical bills removed in your bankruptcy.
Resource:
ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304901?journalCode=ajph&
https://www.kelleylawoffice.com/can-i-dismiss-my-chapter-7-bankruptcy-case/
