The United States is well known for having an expensive health care system. While the hospitals and other health care centers do provide world-class care, this care can cost an incredible amount of money, and much of it is often not even covered if you have insurance.
This is especially a problem for people who don’t have insurance. When something happens and you need medical care, you’re typically not going to put it off just because it’s expensive. You need that treatment. Maybe you have a potentially fatal disease. Maybe you’ve been suddenly injured in a car accident and you can’t go to work. There are many ways in which you could need the assistance of medical professionals, and you’re still going to get that even if it’s well outside of your means to do so.
There are many problems with this system, one of which is that it causes an incredible amount of debt. In reality, this is an even bigger issue than a lot of people realize.
It’s the number one reason for bankruptcy
To show just how crippling this medical debt can be, consider the fact that it causes bankruptcy more than any other single factor. It is the number one reason that people find themselves so far in debt that they have no way to get out of it on their own and they need to use this legal process to eliminate that debt.
You can tell that people don’t always understand how this happens if you ask them why they think people declare bankruptcy. They’ll often talk about things like taking out loans that they couldn’t afford or spending far too much on multiple credit cards. They think that reckless spending is the main reason that people need to file for bankruptcy.
But it’s not. That’s just a common misconception. While those kinds of cases do occur, it’s far more often true that someone has to file bankruptcy because of things that are outside of their control and that caused an incredible amount of medical debt, seemingly overnight.
Exploring your options
If you are facing debt for any reason and you’re unsure how to proceed, make sure that you explore all of your options under U.S. bankruptcy law.