Every once in a while someone will call me or email regarding filing a “medical bankruptcy.”

Generally, they tell me that they have a lot of medical bills that they are unable to pay and that they could handle all of their other bills if they could just get rid of the medical bills. So they want to file bankruptcy on just their medical bills.

At that point I have to advise them that there is no such thing as a medical bankruptcy.

While there certainly are bankruptcies that are filed primarily because of medical bills, there are no bankruptcies that are designed to selectively discharge only medical debts.

Individuals with primarily consumer debt including medical bills generally file either Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In both of these types of bankruptcies, all of a person’s debt must be included. A person may not pick and choose which of his or her debts will be included in the bankruptcy. It’s all or nothing.

Therefore, the bankruptcy will discharge not only the medical debt, but also the credit cards, signature loans, old utility bills and other unsecured debt that the person may owe.

If you are struggling with overwhelming medical debt and have questions about bankruptcy, I would be happy to visit with you and answer your questions. Simply fill out the “Contact Dan” form on the right side of this page and click the “Submit” button and I’ll get back with you as soon as I can. Or just pick up the phone and give me a call at 918-615-8260. I look forward to hearing from you.

Generally, once a person knows that bankruptcy is their best option, the bankruptcy filing should be done as quickly as possible.

Delay can result in bad consequences such as being sued by a creditor and having your pay check garnished. Not to mention the increased stress and other emotional consequences that go hand in hand with financial troubles.

However, there are some circumstances that cause me to recommend a client to temporarily delay filing bankruptcy. One of those circumstances is future medical treatment.

If you’re thinking of filing bankruptcy and you know that you will be receiving medical treatment in the near future, you should consider not filing your bankruptcy case until after your medical treatment is finished. This is because bankruptcy only wipes out bills for medical treatment you received before you file bankruptcy – not after.

My advice here assumes that your upcoming medical treatment will result in doctor and/or hospital bills that you cannot pay.

Even if you have health insurance that will cover the majority of your upcoming medical treatment, you likely will be personally responsible for co-pays and deductibles which can add up to a considerable amount.

And complications can cause the cost of your medical treatment to skyrocket.

For example, if you or your spouse is pregnant, a premature delivery or emergency C-section can cause medical expenses to surge out-of-sight. That’s why all things being equal, it would be wise to consider waiting to file bankruptcy until after the baby is born.

And unexpected complications that increase medical costs aren’t limited to pregnancy. Unfortunately, they can surprise you in just about any situation involving medical treatment from routine check-ups to elective surgery.

So if you’re seriously considering filing bankruptcy and you have upcoming medical treatment, think about delaying the filing of your bankruptcy.

If you’re struggling with debt problems and would like to know more about the different types of bankruptcy and which would be best for your specific situation, contact Dan Nunley today to schedule a FREE initial consultation. Just fill out the Contact Dan form on the far right side of the page and click the Submit button and I’ll get back with you as quickly as I can. I would count it a privilege to be able to visit with you in a relaxed and confidential environment where I’ll answer all of your questions in plain English and give you the straight scoop on the pros and cons of bankruptcy as related to your specific situation.

A new report suggests that debt is a significant factor in worsening people’s mental health. The report, by the British mental health charity Mind, used surveys to study the link between mental health and debt. It found that 91 percent of those with problem debt said the lack of funds had worsened their mental health. The report also showed that people who suffer from such mental health problems as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are three times more likely to be in debt due to difficulty finding or keeping employment.

Source: MedicalNewsToday.com.

Ron Eaker received a letter from his doctor’s office canceling his upcoming appointment. Why? Because Eaker filed bankruptcy.

Eaker, a former Methodist minister, and his wife, Mary Ann, who is also barred from the doctor’s office, have a long history of medical treatment there. Eaker was a longtime patient who had been treated by his doctor for three heart attacks and he wanted to continue receiving care there. But unlike hospital emergency rooms, which are required by law to treat patients, doctors in private practice are not obligated to do so.

In November 2004, nearly $109,000 in debt, most of it to the hospital and clinic for treatment of his heart attacks and her nearly fatal brain aneurysm, the Eakers decided bankruptcy was their only option. Although both were working, they were uninsured and figured that short of winning the lottery, they would never be able to pay off their debt. Bill collectors were hounding them, Eaker recalled.

“I didn’t want to declare bankruptcy, but I swallowed my pride and took it,” said Eaker, who left the ministry after 20 years to become a nursing home administrator, then suffered his first heart attack at 52 and lost his job.

After his third heart attack, Eaker said, the hospital wrote off his debt. He proposed to pay off his $30,000 bill to the doctor in $50 monthly installments but an employee of the doctor’s offce rejected that, saying, “You won’t live long enough to pay it off.”

Eaker, who works as a desk clerk at a storage facility and as a handyman, said $50 was all he could afford on the couple’s annual take-home income of $36,000. He said his wife earns $8 an hour as a housekeeper at an assisted living facility. She took the job in 2007 because it provides them with insurance, which he said consumes more than 50 percent of her check. Eaker is making regular payments, including $100 last month, to a collection agency hired by the doctor’s office.

If you’re struggling with medical debt and would like to know more about how bankruptcy may be able to help you, contact me today to schedule a FREE initial consultation. Just fill out the Contact Dan form on the far right side of the page and click the Submit button and I’ll get back with you as quickly as I can. I would count it a privilege to be able to visit with you in a relaxed and confidential environment where I’ll answer all of your questions in plain English and give you the straight scoop on the pros and cons of bankruptcy as related to your specific situation.

Source: The Washington Post.

Pummeled by a deepening recession that is demolishing jobs and family finances, more Americans are struggling to pay their medical bills.

For years a booming economy camouflaged the burden of medical debt. Patients borrowed against their homes or whipped out credit cards. But falling house prices and tightening credit have eliminated those options for many.

As a result, the problem of medical debt is climbing the income scale, affecting not just the poor or the uninsured. Millions of Americans covered by health insurance are paying more for less — fewer benefits, higher co-pays and additional deductibles — and are at risk for large out-of-pocket bills when serious illness or injury strike.

“People who are underinsured end up facing almost identical problems as the uninsured,” said Karen L. Pollitz, director of the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University. “The difference is, they paid for the privilege.”

Jim Eyler says he needs help. The cement company manager said he spends about 33 percent of his take-home pay on unreimbursed medical bills, many connected with the advanced breast cancer his wife has been battling since 2005. “I keep wondering, where’s the money going to come from?” he asked.

Unlike other forms of consumer debt, such as a mortgage or automobile payments, medical debt is typically involuntary and unplanned, the result of necessity, not desire. Consumers can’t shop around for the best deal on an angioplasty or the cheapest hospital, nor in many cases can they delay treatment. Often they are forced to make decisions at their most vulnerable, because they or a loved one is sick, injured or dying.

Medical debt can quickly snowball. Consumers with unpaid bills can wind up in court defending themselves against lawsuits filed by doctors and hospitals, which typically charge the uninsured full price for care, without the hefty discounts negotiated by health plans. Debtors’ wages can be garnished, liens can be placed on their homes, and their future job and housing prospects torpedoed by bad credit ratings. Those who charged medical expenses to a credit card can find that missed or late payments result in an interest rate that zooms retroactively to 29 percent.

Embarrassed by unpaid bills and fearful of accruing more, many such patients postpone care until they are sicker and their illnesses are more difficult and expensive to treat.

Sheila Bell-Clifford has been uninsured since August, when her husband lost his job and with it their health insurance while he was being treated for metastatic cancer. She has stopped going to the doctor for treatment of her severe diabetes and skips pills, although complications landed her in the hospital two years ago. “I have to juggle them,” she said of her medications, “because if I run out I’m in worse shape.”

If you’re struggling with medical bills and would like to know more about how bankruptcy may be able to help you, contact me today to schedule a FREE initial consultation. Just fill out the Contact Dan form on the far right side of the page and click the Submit button and I’ll get back with you as quickly as I can. I would count it a privilege to be able to visit with you in a relaxed and confidential environment where I’ll answer all of your questions in plain English and give you the straight scoop on the pros and cons of bankruptcy as related to your specific situation.

Source: The Washington Post.

The stress from deepening debt is becoming a major pain in the neck — and the back and the head and the stomach — for millions of Americans.

When people are dealing with mountains of debt, they’re much more likely to report health problems, too, according to an Associated Press-AOL Health poll. And not just little stuff; this means ulcers, severe depression, even heart attacks.

Take Edward Driscoll, 38, of Braintree, Mass. He blames debt — $10,000 worth — for contributing to his ulcers and his wife Kimberly’s panic attacks. “Just worrying, worrying, worrying, you know, where the next payment of this is going to come from,” he says.

And the current tough economic times and rising costs of living seem to be leading to increasing debt stress, 14 percent higher this year than in 2004, according to an index tied to the AP-AOL survey.

Among the people reporting high debt stress in the new poll:

* 27 percent had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.
* 44 percent had migraines or other headaches, compared with 15 percent.
* 29 percent suffered severe anxiety, compared with 4 percent.
* 23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent.
* 6 percent reported heart attacks, double the rate for those with low debt stress.
* More than half, 51 percent, had muscle tension, including pain in the lower back. That compared with 31 percent of those with low levels of debt stress.

People who reported high stress also were much more likely to have trouble concentrating and sleeping and were more prone to getting upset for no good reason.

Regardless of the health implications, Americans are taking on more debt as tough economic times — slowing economic activity, job losses, soaring energy and food prices, slumping home values and record home foreclosures — strain many people’s budgets.

Revolving consumer debt, almost all from credit cards, now totals $957 billion, compared with $800 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve.

Average car loans are up, too, to $27,397, from $24,888 four years ago. Home mortgages total $10.5 trillion, compared with $7.8 trillion in 2004.

If that’s not enough to rattle you, consider this. The share of households’ after-tax income that goes to serving financial obligations was nearly 20 percent in 2007, up from 18.5 percent in 2004, said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody’s Economy.com.

No wonder people are feeling stressed.

If you’re struggling with debt problems and would like to know more about how bankruptcy may be able to help you, contact me today to schedule a FREE initial consultation. Just fill out the Contact Dan form on the far right side of the page and click the Submit button and I’ll get back with you as quickly as I can. I would count it a privilege to be able to visit with you in a relaxed and confidential environment where I’ll answer all of your questions in plain English and give you the straight scoop on the pros and cons of bankruptcy as related to your specific situation.

Source: MSNBC.