Medical bankruptcies climb 50%
Medical problems contributed to nearly two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all bankruptcies in 2007, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
The study, released June 3, was carried out by researchers at
A previous 2005 analysis by the same group of scholars using 2001 data showed 49.6% of bankruptcies due to high medical debts.
An overwhelming majority were supposedly covered by health insurance before the onset of their illness. "More than three-quarters (77.9 percent) were insured at the start of the bankrupting illness…. Most of the medically bankrupt were solidly middle class before financial disaster hit. Two-thirds were homeowners and three-fifths had gone to college."
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