Even when insured, those in Arkansas and elsewhere who face the challenge of battling cancer find that they may become overwhelmed with medical bills. It’s a testament to the depth of the medical care crisis that medical insurance cannot keep up with the burgeoning costs being charged by the healthcare community. Additionally, the placing of huge medical debt and financial worries on those who are in a battle for survival is inconsistent with the broad ideals traditionally underlying the delivery of medical care in the United States.
Various studies show that those fighting cancer are generally burdened by overwhelming medical bills. The problem is so pressing that most have to change their normal lifestyle to accommodate a new culture of living in constant debt. For many, bankruptcy presents the only option that restores the individual and the family to a pre-illness state of financial normalcy.
According to some observers, in fact, the bankruptcy option is providing the only “payment” method available to those suffering with cancer and with associated extraordinary medical expenses. In general, it also appears that medical expenses have overtaken credit card debt as the number one cause for filing bankruptcy. And there’s little wonder why this is the case: a Chapter 7 filing will wipe out quickly and permanently, without repercussions, all medical debt and other unsecured debt such as credit cards possessed by an individual or married couple.
The individual will be best served by having a bankruptcy attorney in Arkansas evaluate the circumstances and coordinate the filing so that the maximum bulk of the bills are legally discharged. It’s good to keep in mind that all of the variety of problems generated by our healthcare system-in-crisis are not solved by filing bankruptcy. Nonetheless, it is a valuable tool for those confronting the deficiencies of the current medical care and medical insurance models. As a patient recovers from the battle with the disease, part of the good news is that he or she can rest even easier in knowing that the crushing pressures of a large medical debt burden have been forever lifted from his or her shoulders.
Source: consumer.healthday.com, “Many Americans in Debt, Bankruptcy Paying for Cancer Care“, Oct. 22, 2014