Over 60 Percent Of All US Bankruptcies Attributable To Medical Problems

ScienceDaily (June 5, 2009) -- In 2007, before the current economic downturn, an American family filed for bankruptcy in the aftermath of illness every 90 seconds; three-quarters of them were insured. Over 60% of all bankruptcies in the United States in 2007 were driven by medical incidents. In an article published in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, the results of the first-ever national random-sample survey of bankruptcy filers shows that illnesses and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of bankruptcies. The share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 50% between 2001 and 2007. Comment: Yet there are still those voices in the Republican party saying that there is no problem with the Medical Care financial system.