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Doubtful. Do people go bankrupt by medical debt in other countries? Seems unlikely to get judgment and collect.

by ada1981 5y ago

kube-system 5y ago
I think it’s simply unlikely because debt is always preferable to a life threatening emergency. That being said, from a global perspective, “bankruptcy” is not a good measure of economic burden. There are worse debt outcomes than bankruptcy.
- sgjohnson 5y ago
  Bankruptcy is actually quite a piece of cake in several US states. In fact most of them even let you keep your home. Bankruptcy is not some sort of a financial death sentence. In fact you’ll even be able to get access to credit almost immediately, because the default risk just after bankruptcy is extremely low due to the fact that you can’t declare bankruptcy for another 2-3 years. Yes, your credit score is trashed for the next 6-7 years, but it’s also trashed with an insufferable amount of medical debt. I would be much more upset about a 6 figure medical bill if I had 6 figures in liquid assets than I would be if I owned nothing besides some home equity. If I have 6 figures of liquid assets, I’m wiped out, but if I own nothing, I declare bankruptcy and have a clean slate.
  - kube-system 5y ago
    That’s what I was alluding to. Part of the high bankruptcy rates in the US are because we have very liberal laws about bankruptcy. Not only do you get to keep your home, but the majority of people who file Chapter 7 keep everything. That’s not to say we don’t have issues with medical costs… I’m just speaking generally about using bankruptcy rates as an indicator.
    - ada1981 5y ago
      Can you share more about people keeping everything?
      - kube-system 5y ago
        They’re called “no asset chapter 7” filings. The TL;DR is that the law allows you to “exempt” certain assets, mostly, basic necessities that people need to live a basic productive life. The point of bankruptcy is to make people pay what they can reasonably afford, not to make them pay every penny possible. The types of assets that chapter 7 does take away are things that poor people often don’t have anyway. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-chapter-7-no-asset-bankruptcy-case.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-chapter-7-no... I think TV and movies have led people to believe that people “lose everything” when they file bankruptcy and end up on the streets. That’s just not reality, at least in the US.

Doubtful. Do people go bankrupt by medical debt in other countries? Seems unlikely to get judgment and collect.

I think it’s simply unlikely because debt is always preferable to a life threatening emergency. That being said, from a global perspective, “bankruptcy” is not a good measure of economic burden. There are worse debt outcomes than bankruptcy.

sgjohnson 5y ago
Bankruptcy is actually quite a piece of cake in several US states. In fact most of them even let you keep your home. Bankruptcy is not some sort of a financial death sentence. In fact you’ll even be able to get access to credit almost immediately, because the default risk just after bankruptcy is extremely low due to the fact that you can’t declare bankruptcy for another 2-3 years. Yes, your credit score is trashed for the next 6-7 years, but it’s also trashed with an insufferable amount of medical debt. I would be much more upset about a 6 figure medical bill if I had 6 figures in liquid assets than I would be if I owned nothing besides some home equity. If I have 6 figures of liquid assets, I’m wiped out, but if I own nothing, I declare bankruptcy and have a clean slate.
- kube-system 5y ago
  That’s what I was alluding to. Part of the high bankruptcy rates in the US are because we have very liberal laws about bankruptcy. Not only do you get to keep your home, but the majority of people who file Chapter 7 keep everything. That’s not to say we don’t have issues with medical costs… I’m just speaking generally about using bankruptcy rates as an indicator.
  - ada1981 5y ago
    Can you share more about people keeping everything?
    - kube-system 5y ago
      They’re called “no asset chapter 7” filings. The TL;DR is that the law allows you to “exempt” certain assets, mostly, basic necessities that people need to live a basic productive life. The point of bankruptcy is to make people pay what they can reasonably afford, not to make them pay every penny possible. The types of assets that chapter 7 does take away are things that poor people often don’t have anyway. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-chapter-7-no-asset-bankruptcy-case.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-chapter-7-no... I think TV and movies have led people to believe that people “lose everything” when they file bankruptcy and end up on the streets. That’s just not reality, at least in the US.