"Medical bills underlie 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies: study"....

Healthcare and the overall economy inextricably tied together.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5530Y020090604

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in just six years, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

More than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but still were overwhelmed by their medical debts, the team at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University reported in the American Journal of Medicine.

"Using a conservative definition, 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92 percent of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5,000, or 10 percent of pretax family income," the researchers wrote.

"Most medical debtors were well-educated, owned homes and had middle-class occupations.""

they also are forced to have other debts canceled via bankruptcy.

How can that not have an overall inflationary impact on the economy?

Through a meltdown that is across the board.

The more debt that has to be charged of the more the companies lose. If they lose too much, they have to raise prices or cut costs. Either way, goods and services become more expensive or the quality of the service decrease.

more than 75% had insurance.

This article (businessweek) actually puts it closer to 78%:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5782658&mesg_id=5782658

K & R.

According to Common Dreams a few days ago, the chair of that committee has taken over $1.9 million dollars from health insurance companies, big pharma, ALL those guys, while the other people on the committee have taken over $700,000 during that time.

I guess they're doing the people's bidding, alright. Sons of bitches...

I need O to push that point home. But Baucus needs to know this as well.

Full study here (an excellent read and a public health classic):

Illness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy

http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w5.63/DC1

K&R

be the most uncontrolable and the ones I hear about.

Currently the insurance companies are calling the shots. On a $30K bill, HMOs often pay only $10K and the hospital writes off the rest. The un/under-insured get ding'd for the whole $30K and the hospitals expect to be paid.