Is there anything in either of the new HC bills that will prevent

[napi21]

so many people from having to file bankruptcy? I keep hearing diff. Congressmen talk of how many thousands have to file bankrupcy because of medical bills, but I can't remember hearing anyone talk of a section of either bill that would prevent it.

[regnaD kciN]

1. Well, there's an annual cap on out-of-pocket expenses...

...beyond what your insurance will cover, so you won't have cases of cancer patients coming out of a cycle of surgery, radiation, and chemo owing $30,000 beyond what insurance covers. And, of course, there are no longer lifetime (or annual, since it seems they fixed that part of the bill) coverage limits.

[eridani]

6. That will make little differnce to bankruptcies

All it means is that the amount of debt cancelled will be significantly smaller.

[POAS]

2. How about the fact that people cannot

be deemed uninsurable because of preexisting conditions. Being denied coverage is one of the bigger factors behind those medical bankruptcies.

[napi21]

3. I was more thinking about an annual out of pocket cost.

All the insurances I've ever had, and even the suplemental I have now with Medicare all had an annual out of pocket cost. They ranged from $2,500 up to what mine is now at $4,600. I found out the hard way what those 80%/20% plans mean! 20% dpesn't sound like much until you find out what that HUGH total it pertains to! If your bills total $100,000 your costs are $20,000! I know I couldn't handle that kind of a hit more than 1 year and I'd be in bankruptcy court & I don't think I'm alone!

[eridani]

5. But they can be. It will just be called "having a bad credit record"

And if you can't pay premiums for a couple of months, you still lose the insurance.

[eridani]

4. No. The bill mandates UNDERINSURANCE

The majority of people filing for medical bankruptcies have better insurance than the shitty 70% coverage of the lower tier.

[KrR]

7. Umm having insurance prevents it

do you really not know this?

[POAS]

8. I guess I misread the OP when I replied farther up in this thread

I thought the OP wanted to know about things in the HCR that would mitigate the need for bankruptcies but I now understand that the question was about total elimination of medical bankruptcies ("Is there anything in either of the new HC bills that will prevent so many people from having to file bankruptcy?)

Now obviously there is no magic bullet within this bill that would prevent bankruptcies due to health issues. There are however several aspects that will help reduce those bankruptcies.

My apologies for failing to recognize that the OP was intended to (as I now see it) point out opposition to this bill as not being a panacea and for earnestly attempting to point out those aspects of the current HCR bill that does help people deal with their helath issues without having to resort to bankruptcies.

I would hope that just because this bill is not a panacea the original poster will not give up the fight to advance further reforms that will continue to improve our system, even those changes that don't offer a panacea to all that ails us!

[napi21]

9. I'm not looking for a panacea, and I'm NOT against the bill.

In my case it probably doesn't matter because we are on Medicare and our supplement has a max out of pocket cost of $4,600/yr. My concerns are for everyone who is in the regular ins. system...what ever it turns out to look like. I do believe even THIS bill as we know it will be a big improvement over the status quo, but of all the bad things that harm people & their families, having to file bankruptcy is right up there with the WORST. I'm tired hearing that in no other Country does anyone have to go bankrupt because of medical problems, and I was hoping our Country could one day be able to say that too!