Comments on: Bankruptcies: Most Caused By Medical Bills

By: Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies « Credit Cards, Credit Reports, and Debt Topics

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:23:34 +0000

[...] June 22, 2009 Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies Posted by mmarquit under Credit Cards, Debt, Trends, economy, personal finance | Tags: Bankruptcy, credit card, credit card debt, Debt, Health insurance, Insurance | Leave a Comment We’ve heard a lot of bluster recently with regard to consumers and the economy. With bankruptcies and foreclosures mounting, many are blaming problems on excessive credit card use. And, while excessive credit card debt doubtless plays its role in bankruptcies and other issues, it is worth noting that most bankruptcies are, in fact, caused by medical bills. [...]

By: Miranda Marquit

Miranda Marquit — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:58:37 +0000

Thanks for your alternative view. It’s always good to get as much information as possible. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone will always agree…

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:05:57 +0000

To really screw something up, all you need to do is get the government involved. Just look at their track record at anything other than fighting wars…. pathetic. But the idea of providing monetary incentives for improving an individuals health is worth pursuing. What the government is trying to push through now will cost the taxpayers dearly.

By: Money Blog Review for June 12th 2009

Money Blog Review for June 12th 2009 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:30:50 +0000

[...] insurance will protect you in case of a catastrophic disease. That may be true, but read about why most bankruptcies are still caused by medical bills, presented by Yielding [...]

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:40:28 +0000

I saw this item too, and I thought I'd refer you to a wildly different take on this story from an excellent healthcare/psychiatry blog that I follow. It pretty much eviscerates the thrust of the original article. Never hurts to hear the other side of the argument. Dan Casual Kitchen

By: Miranda Marquit

Miranda Marquit — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:30:55 +0000

You bring up a good point, Steve. I think there are all sorts of people affected by this. Thanks for sharing your insight as well.

By: Miranda Marquit

Miranda Marquit — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:30:08 +0000

That’s the crappy thing about how insurance companies are for-profit (they used to not be, back in the day). It’s all about the bottom line. The best way to get your money’s worth for insurance is to own stock in the company…But yeah, it is depressing that you pay for insurance and then they try to weasel out of the agreement. We’re working on savings as well. And thinking about the HSA. In the end, you’re the only one you can truly rely on.

By: Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle

Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:28:43 +0000

A bit hopeless and depressing that the very thing you rely on to protect you will be the same thing that abandons you in your time of need (or immediately thereafter). Isn’t that the whole point of insurance?

Seems a little bit unfair, but hey, that’s life.

Meanwhile, I’m working on my own insurance policy – it’s called a large savings account. :)

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:02:45 +0000

It’s not just the patient that feels the financial sting of healthcare costs. Hospitals are next in line to inherit the pain and ultimately affect thousands of lives all at once. We’ll know personal bankruptcies have hit critical mass with respect to healthcare costs when hospitals start going to drastic lengths.

The author’s completely right – it has to start with the insurance companies. I’ve worked for several hospitals across the country and have witness an inordinate amount of shady practices on the payer side. Some have hired lawyers to skew definitions of what is inpatient and what is outpatient in order to pay less. Others have denied entire heart procedures simply because of a simple missing code on the bill. Unbelievable.

Thank goodness for the proliferation of useful healthcare information on the Internet.