Posted on 02/02/2005 6:29:31 AM PST by drt1
Study finds most bankruptcy filers had health insurance - Costly illnesses trigger about half of all personal bankruptcies, and most of those who go bankrupt because of medical problems have health insurance, according to findings from a Harvard University study to be released Wednesday.
Researchers from Harvard’s law and medical schools said the findings underscore the inadequacy of many private insurance plans that offer worst-case catastrophic coverage, but little financial security for less severe illnesses.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Welp, that settles it. Free healthcare for everyone!!!!!
OJ's bankruptcy wasn't due to medical bills....
My wife had surgery about a year ago and the total bill for hospital and surgery was around $75,000.
We do have good insurance and had zero out of pocket expence.
I can see how a few of those could really hurt people without good insurance.
The problem with our medical system is the high cost.
It's come to the point that you have to be careful getting out of bed in the morning.
This does offer as a chance reminder that we really do have a crisis in health insurance here in the US. The Medicare and Medicaid systems (our own version of socialized medicine) have pushed up healthcare costs in the form of unbelievable regulation and requirements for participation while at the same time forcing downward its reimbursements to healthcare providers. This has resulted in Private Insurance having to make up the difference. Private Insurance and Self-Pay customers are covering for the net loss from providing services to patients under govt. programs while being the only source for profits. As a result, private insurers are jacking up premiums while cutting benefits to their subscribers. This is what happens when govt. runs healthcare. People moan and groan about the day coming when Hillary and her bunch get their hands on healthcare and it becomes "government run". That day is today. Most sick people are elderly and on Medicare. Therefore, Medicare sets the agenda for healthcare and sets the rules for providing healthcare. Something has to be done to the system before the govt. destroys it.
People with "good" insurance can be hurt also. In the case of cancer (and probably lots of other diseases) so many drugs are classified as "experimental" by the insurance companies and therefore not covered. What do they consider experimental? Anything they don't want to pay for.
I do my absolute best to stay as far away from hospitals nd doctors offices as possible! I mean geeez - talk about an incubator of diseases. Just take a look around your typical Doctors Office - People hacking and wheezing, some with communicable diseases. Hospitals are even worse!
Best only to go when absolutely, positively necessary or for a preventive checkup. So far it's worked for me - Haven't had a prescription or any medical thing for over 30 years.
Hope the wife is well.
About 40% are from frivolous credit card usage. However, most of these people are not deadbeats but very poor financial planners. Typically, they exhaust their 401K plans and the equity in their homes in an attempt to pay the debt off before seeking relief from the bankruptcy court.
The second category (about 30%) is loss of employment. These people had a reduction in income and can no longer afford to pay all of their bills. Many people in this category tried to start a business and failed.
About 30% have incurred major medical bills. Often they are unable to work during the illness which exacerbates the problem.
Talk about a direct subsidy for something that IMO is a purely elective, personal decision type drug. The costs are borne by all and the Gov't support for demand inures to the Benefit of the Drug Cos.
My wife and I are hammered with credit card solicitations in the mail, probably 10 or 12 a week. We have a credit card because it is difficult or impossible to rent a car or make motel reservations without one.
My son went on vacation a few years ago and had to call me to use my credit card because he couldn't rent a car with cash.
Let's face it, healthcare is expensive. How many of these people had less quality coverage because they wanted to afford their boat or brand new car payments?
Nothing will change until they are forced to live under the same conditions and laws that the little people are forced to live under.
My mom and my brother were in and out of the hospital for years, due to manic-depressive. The bills were enormous and it took my dad the better part of 2 decades to pay them down. I was the 4th kid and there was no money for me to go to college - I got there entirely on my own. It was tough times. But we didn't go begging to the government for help!
I just heard in NY that one a few drugs use was increasing at 20+% a year. Taxpayer funded drugs. Were these life saving and necessary? You decide, they were Levitra, and similar drugs.
I don't advocate going to the governmet for help either. I'm just wondering what the answer is for the ruinous cost of health care.
Just don't dare get sick, is what occurs to me.
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