Bankruptcy

The latest Consumer Bankruptcy Project publication: Medical Bankruptcies

By Debb Thorne

Along with my co-authors (Himmelstein, Warren and Woolhandler), I would like to share with the readers of Credit Slips some of the highlights of our most recent publication from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project 2007: "Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: Results of a National Study." (Published June 4, 2009, by The American Journal of Medicine.)

From this random national sample we concluded that:

1) Between 2001 and 2007, the percent of medical bankruptcies increased from 49.6% to 62.1%. In 2007, that translated into approximately 866,000 medical bankruptcies.

2) If we use the "legacy variables" from the 2001 study to calculate the percent of medical bankruptcies in 2007, it reveals a 50 percent increase in these types of bankruptcies.

3) 77.9% of those who said an illness or injury directly led to the bankruptcy had health insurance at the onset of the illness/injury.

4) Most of the medically bankrupt families were middle class before the illness or injury--they owned homes, had attended college, and had middle-class occupations.

5) The greatest expenses for these medically bankrupt families was hospital bills.

6) For these medically bankrupt families, their out-of-pocket medical expenses since the onset of the illness or injury averaged $17,943.

I have downloaded a copy of the press release, which has a more complete discussion of the findings as well as a few comments from me and my co-authors. It also provides information about how and where to find the complete article.Download Press release_June20094 I have also downloaded a fact sheet that we shared with the media, Download AJM factsheet as well as a copy of a question-and-answer sheet that might answer some of your FAQs. Download Q&A3

When I was asked today by a reporter from the Columbus Dispatch if I was surprised by our findings, I had to say that, nope, I wasn't surprised, but I was dismayed.We are a country of hard-working and highly productive individuals--and the fact that our health care system is so dysfunctional that families end up bankrupt because of an illness or injury is a national (and international) disgrace. Our data provide strong evidence that the current system simply does not work. We deserve something better. Much better.

Full post as published by Credit Slips on June 05, 2009 (boomark / email).