Are the Medical Bankruptcy Statistics True?
Thursday December 13, 2007
While campaigning on behalf of his wife, Bill Clinton was quoted as saying "Over half of all the bankruptcies in this decade can be tied to personal health emergencies." However, Michael Millenson, an expert at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management believes that Mr. Clinton is citing a flawed study.
According to the Des Moines Register, the study in question was conducted by Harvard University, and found that approximately half of all families filing for bankruptcy did so in response to high medical bills. Millenson examined the Harvard study on behalf of the insurance industry and found that only 17% of personal bankruptcies could be attributed to medical expenses. Harvard's experts believe that this is a misinterpretation of their data. Because the results from the two studies vary so widely, the accuracy of both studies is likely to be questioned as the 2008 Presidential campaign moves forward.
Comments
I rather enjoyed this comment:
“Millenson examined the Harvard study on behalf of the insurance industry”
Nope, not a chance for bias in this report…
The statistics here are not in dispute by persons familiar with the problem. In 2009, all bankruptcies will skyrocket due to the economic collapse of the US and its debt load.
If we want to fix the economy, we should start at the bottom of the system, not the top. Everyone should be demanding a single payer health care option with rates based on income. This would be good for people and business. It would solve the problem of medical bankruptcy, not to mention ending the national disgrace of having nearly 50 million persons with no health care coverage at all.
-Wexler
Yes…as long as the millionaires are protected! Despite the fact that half the nation makes less than $50,000 we must protect our millionaires. If you are rich, America has wonderful medical care and possibly the best. If you are poor…working 2-3 jobs and under-insured or not insured…you are screwed. So who is America really caring about? Investigated the study on behalf of the insurance industry. Laughable!