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there is ZERO PROOF that even ONE of those 26000 would still be living if they had insurance...
there is ZERO PROOF that bankruptcies are due to medical bills
ie: some guy claims bankruptcy: has 30,000 dollars debt to CC, 200,000 debt to a folded mortage, has 20,000 debt to a car payment, and 6000 to a medical bill from 3 years ago....yet elizabeth warren((and the faulty study in the American Journal of Medicine conducted by Dr. David Himmelstein and other researchers from Harvard University and Ohio University)) will claim that that bankruptcy was due to medicaL
* The personal bankruptcy rate was actually higher in Canada in 2006 and 2007 (0.30 percent for both years) than in the United States (0.20 percent and .27 percent).
* Medical spending was only one of several contributing factors in 17 percent of U.S. bankruptcies -- medical debts accounted for only 12 to 13 percent of the total debts among American bankruptcy filers who cited medical debt as one of their reasons for bankruptcy.
* Medical reasons were cited as the primary cause of bankruptcy by approximately 15 percent of bankrupt Canadian seniors (55 years of age and older).
* Non-medical expenditures comprise the majority of debt among bankrupt consumers in both Canada and the United States; the inability to earn sufficient income to cover these costs -- not exposure to uninsured medical costs -- is the real explanation for almost all bankruptcies in either country.
About 60% of bankruptcies are medical and of that most HAD insurance. Their problem was that they didn't have the money to pay the out of pocket costs. As usual, most Americans do not have any savings. It wasn't lack of insurance but lack of being able to pay their out of pocket costs.
a study in the American Journal of Medicine conducted by Dr. David Himmelstein and Elizabeth Warren, Deborah Thorne, Dr. Steffie Woolhandler from Harvard University and Ohio University.
problem is that the study is fatally flawed. Dr. Himmelstein is a co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization that describes itself on its Web site as "the only national physician organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to implementing a single-payer national health program." An additional Harvard coauthor, Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, is co-founder and secretary of the organization.
Dr. Himmelstein gets different results from other studies; because he uses a smaller sample and a different methodology than other studies. He started with a random sample of 5,251 bankruptcy petitions and wound up through a series of screenings only using 1,032. His survey assumes that when a medical problem is mentioned that associated medical costs are automatically associated with bankruptcy. In addition, anyone is counted as medically bankrupt if they cite illness or medical bills as a reason for bankruptcy, even if other debts, such as foreclosure and credit card debt, are a primary reason.
in fact: The classifications used to determine a medical bankruptcy were odd. Only 28.3 percent of the sample cited self-reported illness or injury as a cause of bankruptcy. However, H & W managed to almost double that figure (to 54.5 percent) by counting the following as "illnesses":
* 1. A birth or addition of a new family member
* 2. A death in a family
* 3. A drug or alcohol addiction
* 4. Uncontrolled gambling
* 5. Loss of at least 2 weeks of work-related income due to illness or injury by anyone in the household
* 6. Out-of-pocket medical bills of $1,000 in the two years before filing by anyone in the household
* 7. Mortgaging a home to pay medical bills.
In a article in the Northwestern University Law Review, Prof. Todd J. Zywicki called the $1,000 threshold for contributing medical debt "indefensible." That's an understatement. By H & W criteria, a bankruptcy with $50,000 in student loans and $1,001 in unpaid medical bills would be classified as a "medical bankruptcy." Moreover, the average U.S. household had out-of-pocket expenses of $2,182 in 2001
and the Himmelstein, Warren, Woolhandler study out right lies...they say "bankruptcies rose"...yet in 2001, 1.45 million households filed for bankruptcy. In 2007, that number was 727,167. a decrease
YET:
A study by the Department of Justice examined more than 5,000 bankruptcy cases between 2000 and 2002. It found that 54% of bankruptcies involve no medical debt, and more than 90% have medical debt of less than $5,000. Even among the minority of bankruptcies that report medical debt, only a few have enough to cause personal bankruptcy.
so if my son is out of work from his summer job due to illness. it will make ME (the actual breadwinner) go bankrupt.....I dont think so
You are the one who bolded the words "by anyone in the household". The reality is that most households have one or two wage earners. Since this is a summer job you're talking about, your son won't even be working the rest of the year, will he? And it's certainly possible that an illness or injury that would keep him out of work for two weeks would be expensive.
You are the one who bolded the words "by anyone in the household". The reality is that most households have one or two wage earners. Since this is a summer job you're talking about, your son won't even be working the rest of the year, will he? And it's certainly possible that an illness or injury that would keep him out of work for two weeks would be expensive.
Yes I did bold the word..but that is what they looked at
sure some households might rely on multiple incomes
but the FACT remains that a person(an income producing entity) being out of work for a few weeks is still not a "MEDIACL BILL" to bankrupcy
the study was flawed...in fact it was a bold face lie by warren and the others pushing their lies
If a wage earner is out of work for two weeks due to illness or injury, you can bet said illness or injury is serious, and thus costly.
That's pretty dramatic though..2 weeks of no work and you need to file bankruptcy ?
Even if it is costly one can work out a payment plan. That's what collection agencies do.
How many Americans does that really effect ? Two weeks and one has to file bankruptcy.....
The flu is easily a 1 week illness.
Having your kids get sick and need to stay home could be one to two weeks. Pink eye comes to mind where you have to stay home.
Not necessarily costly illnesses, just long drawn out ones.
That's pretty dramatic though..2 weeks of no work and you need to file bankruptcy ?
Even if it is costly one can work out a payment plan. That's what collection agencies do.
How many Americans does that really effect ? Two weeks and one has to file bankruptcy.....
The flu is easily a 1 week illness.
Having your kids get sick and need to stay home could be one to two weeks. Pink eye comes to mind where you have to stay home.
Not necessarily costly illnesses, just long drawn out ones.
Yes, let's trivialize this by talking about pink eye. In any event, once a person has been on antibiotic eye drops for 24 hours, they are no longer contagious and able to go back to school/work/day care.
Flu? Yeah, can last two weeks in some cases. Losing that much income could put some families over the edge. Many people live "paycheck to paycheck".
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