A day in bankruptcy court would make you sick

[Vinnie From Indy]

From the Indy Star's newest editorial writer Fran Quigley. Fran is a lawyer and former head of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. Quigley is currently director of operations for the Indiana-Kenya Partnership.

"It is Friday morning at the federal courthouse in Downtown Indianapolis, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court Trustee Gregory Silver sits behind a low table in a room on the fourth floor calling out names of Hoosiers who have filed for discharge of their debts. In a somber scene with the air of a fiscal confessional booth, many petitioners come forward with slumped shoulders and slightly bowed heads, and then softly answer Silver's questions about the financial collapses that led them to this room.

A young woman from Southside Indianapolis has racked up enormous debt due to the costs of childbirth. A middle-aged couple from the Northwestside was sued for payment of their medical bills. Another woman had the misfortune of being attacked by a dog before health insurance from her new job kicked in. Even after turning a lawsuit settlement over to bill collectors for hospitals and doctors, she still owes them $35,000.

Most of those in Silver's court have several things in common, in addition to the humiliating surrender of their cars and homes and the shredding of the credit cards they used to pay for emergency care. Most are working, and many of them had some health insurance at the time of their illnesses or injury. But their insurance didn't cover the costs of their treatment.

"More and more of the middle class is finding out that even if they have jobs and insurance, they can be wiped out by medical events that are not even catastrophic," says Dr. Christopher Stack, a retired orthopedist and co-founder of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan, the state's chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. "You can run up a high five-figure bill real easily."

You can read the rest of this editorial at:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080630/OPINION01/806300319/1002/OPINION

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. And we don't have national health insurance -- why?

Single payer national health insurance is the only way to go.

[n2doc]

6. But..but...some rich person might have to WAIT!

:sarcasm:

I am becoming more and more convinced that the lack of universal health care is being used to hold down wages and keep people working in jobs they hate for substandard wages, because they are afraid of losing their health care.

[reggie the dog]

15. bingo

[Vanje]

2. K&R nt

[ejpoeta]

3. the problem is that there are people in this country that think

that 1) the people who are going through this just didn't do enough to avoid it
2) they are just trying to get out of paying what they owe
3) that could NEVER happen to them because they are not deadbeats or shirkers.

the problem is that there are plenty of us who are living paycheck to paycheck (myself included) who would be in a world of hurt if anything happened. I know this despite the fact that I have insurance. It's sad really that so many (i have family members like that) who would place the blame at the feet of the victims of circumstances instead of being alarmed, as they should be, that it could be them too.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. I hope

to leave this country someday. Healthcare is a primary motivator. Other reasons include the glorification of greed and consumerism that is required to maintain an economy that is dependent upon consumer spending. I might reconsider if I were to see a change in attitudes reflected in meaningful efforts to rebuild our infrastructure and our manufacturing sector. I don't expect to see that. Our nation is bankrupt.

I know I could easily find myself in the same situation as these folks. However, I recognize my first obligation is to care for myself and my family. IMHO, that is better accomplished elsewhere. My country, its government, its leaders and many of my fellow citizens have repeatedly demonstrated that they consider my needs and interests of little importance.

I am currently focusing considerable time and effort into reinventing myself and acquiring skills and experiences that will enable me to relocate to another country as a self-employed small business owner. That is a risk I simply am unwilling to undertake here given the very real risks of finding onself suddenly insolvent due to a need for health care. There are far better investment opportunities (including small business start up opportnities) than those currently available in the US.

[Prophet 451]

5. Bankruptcy court

Where the greedy sue the desperate over the mundane.

[pansypoo53219]

7. car companies especially should be demanding it.

but big biznass is STUPID for not demanding it. gives europe a leg up.

[nashville_brook]

8. this has been observation too. big business has the muscle to demand healthcare

be shifted off their books. why aren't they out in front of the debate?

[bbgrunt]

9. ...probably because they are funding less and less of

it and private insurance is a big honey pot they hope to milk when everything else fails.

[Blue_Tires]

11. because slowly but surely, the automakers

have been moving jobs to mexico, canada and asia...no more healthcare worries...

[Heywood J]

20. They're losing jobs in Canada too.

Those are unionized workers as well. Mexico and China are the big targets now for production facilities, low wages and easy access to being boated or carried into the US and Canada.

From the people who brought you leaded toys, filthy food, and Tiananmen Square, comes your next car...

[Doctor_J]

19. it supposedly adds $2000 to every car.

but here in the US workers are considered the enemy of management, and thus people who actually make cars are considered red items on the balance sheet, instead of valuable resources.

[Froward69]

10. I am currently organizing a fund raising

benefit, to cover my recent medical expenses... Appendicitis. Something NON preventable.

I must say I am scared of how much it will be.

[groovedaddy]

12. Not sure on the exact statistics, but more than half of all bankruptcies

are due to medical expenses. It's a crime!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. This is one of my nightmares

With a high deductible insurance policy, unreimbursed medical expenses could easily do more than max out my credit cards.

I could kick myself for not relocating to other countries when I was younger and actually had some opportunities (Japan, Norway, Australia)

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. We don't need universal health INSURANCE

we need reasonably priced medical treatment.

"You can run up a high five-figure bill real easily."


Making insurance mandatory only makes insurance companies rich.
It actually raises the cost of treatment.

Look at what happened to folks who had car or house insurance and then could not get the insurance companies to pay for the damage.
Said companies did manage to raise insurance coverage prices thru the roof, then stopped issuing policies, after all the sheeple had been sheared.

If medical treatment was affordable, we would not need overpriced insurance.

[reggie the dog]

16. nationalize the companies

then the state can run helth insurance as a break even, not a make a profit industry. The state could also introduce price controls.

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. I like all 4 of your ideas.

[natrat]

22. hospital bills are a sick joke

i split up a dog fight and needed a few stitches-$2,800--but the hilarious part was they charged me $280 for 2 vicadins for pain

[Doctor_J]

18. Giving birth induces bankruptcy

This country is morally bankrupt

[RebelOne]

21. I have been there, done that. Both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

And you do not have to lose your car or house. You just reaffirm your car loan and mortgage. Right now, I am under a Chapter 13. I kept my car and my mobile home, but I did have to give up all my credit cards. That's all right because credit cards were the source of my money problems. I am not allowed to have any credit at all for the next 5 years.