How Texas residents can avoid excessive medical debt
Mountains of medical bills have driven many Texas residents to financial desperation. In fact, recent media reports indicate that this is a countrywide problem. It has also been reported that it is not only uninsured individuals who find themselves in this position, even some people who have medical insurance are finding it difficult to manage […]
Study: despite ACA, medical debt soon to be No. 1 bankruptcy cause
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’re well aware that having good health insurance doesn’t necessarily mean that an injury, a chronic health condition or a sudden illness won’t cause you financial problems. Overwhelming medical debt has long been a common trigger for bankruptcy, and a recent study using 2013 data predicts […]
Even for those with insurance, medical debt can be a problem
One of our most important themes in this blog is that medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. As we discussed in our December 6 post, the ever-rising cost of health care has made medical bills a bitter pill to swallow for large numbers of Americans. Many of the people struggling with […]
Bitter pill remains bitter: hospital bills and medical debt
Medical bills are a major cause of bankruptcy. That is why we continue to follow the issue of medical debt in this blog. In our September 13 post, for example, we discussed how the advent of health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act could affect decisions to file bankruptcy. After all, as we pointed […]
Spiraling medical debt: emergence of new payment options
We noted in a recent blog post how serious a problem medical debt is for many individuals and families across the country, including in Texas (please see our September 13, 2013, entry). Some commentators might amend the above sentence to read especially in Texas, given the dismal statistic that Texas has the highest rate of residents […]
Medical bills, bankruptcy, and health insurance under Obamacare
Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. This has been the case for many years, and it includes both people with insurance and without. Is it likely to change with the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA)? The ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare after the president who pushed for it, […]
Bankruptcy can help someone buried under medical debt
One of the most disastrous events that can happen to someone during their life is a major medical condition. It takes away your ability to live your life, and it leaves you in a lot of pain. While your insurance may cover a large portion of all the medical costs associated with your condition, there […]
Age differences apparent in bankruptcy caused by medical debt
“When it rains, it pours,” goes the slightly nonsensical old saying. And indeed, it’s true that when trouble comes, it sometimes doubles up. A case in point is a cancer diagnosis and financial problems. And according to research published this week, people with cancer are twice as likely to file for bankruptcy as people who […]
For medical bills, payday loans are the opposite of debt relief
Medical bills can hit you like a ton of bricks. Even people with health insurance can suddenly find themselves owing more than they imagined – because taking on that debt it seemed like the only way to get the care they or a family member desperately needed. In the San Antonio area and throughout the […]
Seeking to discharge, not swallow, the bitter pill of medical debt
Three years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), medical debt remains the biggest cause of bankruptcy. A year ago, U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law. Yet the insurance overhaul it requires has still not fully taken effect. And meanwhile, 49 million Americans remain without health insurance. Given the scandalously high cost of […]