Large Medical Expenses Lead to Bankruptcy of Americans

According to the American Journal of Public Health, medical expenses arrears are more likely to lead to bankruptcies than debts on housing and educational loans.

Huge debts for medical care have become one of the main causes of personal bankruptcies in the United States. According to a March survey conducted by the American Journal of Public Health, almost 60% of people admit that it was medical expenses that “to an extreme extent” or “to some extent” contributed to their bankruptcy. There were more such respondents than those who cited mortgages or student loans as the main reason.

As a result of high medical costs, for example, in Georgia, many people have to issue payday loans online same day Georgia. This lending option is able to cover medical expenditures and not be involved in financial burden. Besides, this option is issued fast and doesn’t ask any client to collect a set of documents.

This “unique American phenomenon” is due to a number of factors, including the growing lack of insurance, cheap insurance and a huge number of errors in the medical billing system.

There are as many reasons for the medical debt crisis as there are diagnostic codes governing the world of medical bills. In medical interviews, half a dozen consumer advocates told me they are concerned that the problem will worsen as the rate of uninsured increases and more people sign up for cheaper but limited health insurance plans introduced by the Trump administration. Currently, more and more Americans are receiving high-deductible health insurance plans, many of which require patients to pay thousands before insurance starts to be paid. At the same time, medical networks are shrinking, which means that more service providers are likely to be out of the market.

There are also cases when in some states like Georgia hospitals had to provide charitable assistance to certain low-income patients and those who do not have insurance, and instead institutions billed such patients.

Debt collectors are trying to collect these debts, ignoring charitable assistance. The patient is sometimes sued, against which a court decision is made, without even hearing about charitable assistance.

According to the American Hospital Association, in 2017, hospitals provided medical care worth more than $38 billion to patients who could not afford it. Hospitals across the country are trying to find ways to help patients with insufficient insurance and the uninsured navigate the healthcare system.

Hospitals offer charitable assistance programs, look for government assistance options to see if a patient meets the requirements, and provide discounts to these patients whenever possible. Every day, American hospitals treat patients who can only make a minimum payment or not pay at all.

Despite financial assistance, about 20% of Americans have medical claims in their credit histories and overdue medical bills in about the same proportion. In fact, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reports that medical bills are the most common cause of debts being sent to collection agencies.

This is a dangerous trend. According to the lawyers, there are more and more people who cannot afford to pay for emergency medical care and planned surgical procedures. In many cases, the hospital may be covered by the patient’s insurance, but the individual doctors who work there, as well as the hospitalization in the ambulance itself, are not. This often leads to a “balanced bill” in which patients are billed for an amount not covered by insurance.

Category: General

Tags: Georgia, healthcare, insurance, medicine, payday loans, USA