A new study released earlier this month revealed that 60% of bankruptcies are filed due to overwhelming medical bills.  What’s incredible is that of those bankruptcies 75% of the filers have health insurance!  This revelation speaks volumes to those who insist the insurance industry needs no overhaul.   Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University participated in this report and the results were published in the American Journal of Medicine.  Dr. David Himmelstein, an advocate of a U.S. insurance overhaul and a member of the Harvard Medical School staff says that those of us without a bank account to rival Warren Buffet are only “a serious illness away from bankruptcy”.  He goes so far to say that health insurance offers little, if any, protection for middle-class America.

Other findings in this study include:

• The proposals that are now being considered by the Obama White House will not likely help a vast majority of Americans.
• Expanding private insurance won’t prevent financial catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
• Of the 170 million Americans who have health insurance through their employers, many will find themselves with none by year’s end due to employers cutting their own costs.
• 25% of all insurance companies cancel coverage immediately after a disabling illness occurs and is filed, another 25% do so within the twelve months following the claim.

No one is immune from bankruptcy, either.  The study found that most were educated, owned their homes and had successful careers.  Further, the numbers reflect a 50% increase from bankruptcies filed in 2001. 

For many who were asked to pay thousands of dollars after the insurance paid, such as those with injuries or who were diagnosed with Diabetes or other illnesses, the payments were just too much.  Many hospitals and physicians asked patients to make payments that rivaled their automobile or in some instances, those that surpassed even the patient’s mortgage payments.

President Obama continues to work on solutions to the ever-deepening concerns and fears for health care in this country.  Until these problems are met head on and with a consistent solution across the board that will address insurance, bankruptcies and job losses, these numbers won’t be declining.