Medical Illness and Bankruptcy

A very common reason for bankruptcy filing is medical illness.  The cost of healthcare, even for people who are lucky enough to have insurance, can be astronomical these days. 

If you are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with a terminal illness, or even just an injury that requires you to be hospitalized, you are probably going to experience a reduction in income.  You may even lose your job. 

In addition to this loss of money, you also have to bear the cost of your medical treatment.  A one-night stay in a hospital can yield an unbelievable bill. 

What happens when it’s for a week or two, or more?

Let’s say you don’t have medical insurance but you still want to get top quality medical care. Most of the time the only choice a person has is to turn to credit cards.  They put the cost of their treatment on a credit card in order to get well, only to find later that they can’t afford to pay it back. 

This is the number two leading cause for bankruptcy filing.  These are not bad people.  No one wants to get sick!  Filing for bankruptcy may be the only available option for financial survival.