Tag: health insurance

Medical Debt

New Study Looks at Medical Debt Bankruptcy Among the Insured

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A new study by the University of Washington reveals working age Americans are more vulnerable to bankruptcy after an injury like a car crash or a fall that requires hospitalization.

Surprisingly, it’s not the lowest income patients or those without health insurance. It is the working class and working age families that are being hit the hardest by medical debt. The study also revealed people are more than three times more likely to delay medical care or treatment if they already have medical debt.

How Medical Debt is Handled in Bankruptcy

In bankruptcy, medical debt is treated the same as credit card debt. Medical bills are listed as general unsecured debt and can be easily wiped out in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.  Making the decision to file for bankruptcy is never an easy one.

Fortunately, consumers have the option available to them to file for bankruptcy to escape this burden of medical debt. In a bankruptcy case, debts are classified into two categories: secured and unsecured, as well as priority and nonpriority debts. Secured debts are those that are backed by a form of collateral, while priority debts can be unsecured but receive special status, such as tax bills, student loans, and child support. Unsecured debts are those debts that are not secured by collateral and include personal loans, credit card debt, and medical debt.

In a bankruptcy case, unsecured debts are the ones that are discharged at the end of the case, while priority and secured debts are the focus of payment plans or payment in a Chapter 7 case after assets are liquidated. If a debt is discharged, this means the court has issued an order stating that the debt does not have to be paid.

Medical debt may also become part of the repayment plan issued as part of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. The bills may not end up paid in full, but the medical providers will receive at least some amount of payment, which helps the consumer maintain a relationship with their healthcare providers. Repayment plans normally last three to five years, ending with the consumer’s remaining debts, including medical debt, getting discharged.

Those who have experienced illness or injury and found themselves overwhelmed with medical debt should contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney. In bankruptcy, medical bills are considered general unsecured debts just like credit cards. This means that medical bills do not receive priority treatment and can easily be discharged in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy laws were created to help people resolve overwhelming debt and gain a fresh financial start. Bankruptcy attorney Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken, P.A., has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild, and recover. The day you hire our firm; we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

SOURCE: New UW study looks at medical debt, bankruptcy among insured

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief

This Common Life Event Doubles Your Chances of Filing for Bankruptcy

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Medical debt is a common cause of consumer bankruptcy filings.  Losing one’s health insurance, also puts individuals and families at an increased financial risk.  According to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), when someone has an interruption in their health insurance coverage, this gap in coverage nearly doubles that person’s chances of filing for bankruptcy.

The ABI looked through figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for more than 12,500 individuals.  Their findings revealed a “strong association” between losing insurance coverage and consumer bankruptcy filings. ABI narrowed down their research even further to look at 454 people between the years 2008 and 2014 with similar incomes and debt-to-income ratios, who all filed for bankruptcy in that span of time. While many of these bankruptcy filings were driven by health issues, job loss and divorce, a great majority of them had to do with the fact that the person or someone that depended on the insurance carrier did not have coverage at the time of their illness or injury.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Medical Debt the leading cause of Homelessness in South Florida

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Even with Obamacare still intact, a number of Floridians remain without health insurance.  Census surveys say that Florida has one of the highest uninsured populations in the nation, and of the top 25 metro areas, Miami ranks at the bottom three for healthcare coverage.

Medical debt now tops the list of reasons people become homeless in South Florida, according to a recent study. Drug addiction and mental health issues round out the top three.

The recent statistics come from addictions.com, where survey takers conducted in-person interviews with homeless people in South Florida this past July.  Interviewees overwhelmingly attributed hospital bills they could not pay or an addiction they could not overcome to the fact they were living on the streets.

Broward County’s homeless population has grown 6 percent since last year.  Of those surveyed, 42 percent said they had suffered a head injury and 33 percent said they had been beaten at one point while homeless.

In a number of states, the homeless have been helped by the expansion of Medicaid, and were able to receive healthcare for the first time in years.  Not the case in Florida, where state leaders denied the expansion of the program to cover 650,000 low-income residents.

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Those who have experienced illness or injury and found themselves overwhelmed with medical debt should contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney. In bankruptcy, medical bills are considered general unsecured debts just like credit cards. This means that medical bills do not receive priority treatment and can easily be discharged in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy laws were created to help people resolve overwhelming debt and gain a fresh financial start. Bankruptcy attorney Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Medical Debt: The Number One Cause of Personal Bankruptcy

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This year it is expected that 1.7 million American households will be forced to file for bankruptcy due to overwhelming medical debt. This makes medical debt the largest cause of personal bankruptcy filings- surpassing credit card bills and unpaid mortgages, according to new data. Even having health insurance does not shield many Americans from the weight of medical debt.

According to recent data, 25 million Americans hesitate to take their medications in an effort to control medical costs. However, delaying the needed medication is only a short-term fix which can often result in expensive emergency room visits or worse.

More than 20 percent of the population between the ages of 19 and 64 will struggle to pay some sort of medical debt. High-deductible insurance plans, requiring consumers to pay more out-of-pocket expenses, are the most challenging for Americans. With the average American family bringing home just $50,000 a year, an unexpected medical bill coupled with a high-deductible insurance premium can quickly become unmanageable debt.

Obamacare is not likely to fix the problem. While the Affordable Care Act will give more people coverage, those with year-round coverage are likely to still be overwhelmed with medical debt. The number of households forecast to file for medical-related bankruptcies this year is three out of every five filings.

Data from NerdWallet Health revealed that 15 million people will deplete their savings to cover unexpected medical bills. Another 10 million will be unable to pay for necessities such as rent, food and utilities because of those bills.

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If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.