Most Bankruptcies Caused by Medical Bills

A new study reveals that through-the-roof medical bills are the cause of more than 60 percent of bankruptcies in the U.S. From 2001 to 2007, bankruptcies associated with medical debt increased by 50 percent, and 75 percent of the families surveyed actually had health insurance.

CNN:

This year, an estimated 1.5 million Americans will declare bankruptcy. Many people may chalk up that misfortune to overspending or a lavish lifestyle, but a new study suggests that more than 60 percent of people who go bankrupt are actually capsized by medical bills.

Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50 percent in a six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

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