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This is an interesting story, but correlation is not causation. The article even admits this, stating "The truth is that it’s not that easy to determine how ma

This is an interesting story, but correlation is not causation. The article even admits this, stating "The truth is that it’s not that easy to determine how many bankruptcies are caused by medical debt. Examining the paperwork doesn’t always offer insight because debtors often juggle their indebtedness, for example, using a credit card to pay an outstanding medical bill while leaving other debts unpaid." The bankruptcy code itself changed tremendously in 2005: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-bankruptcy-law-chapter-7-13-30040.html http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-bankruptcy-law-ch... The housing market bubble mostly likely had a tremendous effect on bankruptcies as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble

mifeng 10y ago
Yeah I'm surprised that the just picked a single year (2010) instead of the 10 year average prior to 2012, the year ACA took effect. Agree that the housing crash likely elevated bankruptcies. A number of states have laws where even if the bank takes your house in a short sale, they can go after you personally for the remainder of the loan.
notadoc 10y ago
It has long been established that medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy and a significant cost burden, this is not new information. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/08/468892489/medical-bills-still-take-a-big-toll-even-with-insurance http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/08/46889248... If you're slightly interested in this topic, 2 milliseconds on Google will reveal a wealth of information.
- SamReidHughes 10y ago
  It's also well known that study considered any bankruptcy with the slightest smidgen of medical debt to be a medical bankruptcy. Edit: or expenses. Over $1000 in expenses over 2 years and you're in that category.

mifeng 10y ago

Yeah I'm surprised that the just picked a single year (2010) instead of the 10 year average prior to 2012, the year ACA took effect. Agree that the housing crash likely elevated bankruptcies. A number of states have laws where even if the bank takes your house in a short sale, they can go after you personally for the remainder of the loan.

notadoc 10y ago

It has long been established that medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy and a significant cost burden, this is not new information. http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 http://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148 http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/08/468892489/medical-bills-still-take-a-big-toll-even-with-insurance http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/08/46889248... If you're slightly interested in this topic, 2 milliseconds on Google will reveal a wealth of information.

SamReidHughes 10y ago
It's also well known that study considered any bankruptcy with the slightest smidgen of medical debt to be a medical bankruptcy. Edit: or expenses. Over $1000 in expenses over 2 years and you're in that category.