It’s true that overwhelming medical debt is one of the top reasons why Americans file for bankruptcy. Often, the medical issue is largely out of the person’s hands. They simply had to seek the type of medical care they needed to save their life, regardless of whether or not that care was affordable to them.
However, there are those who say that these individuals simply need to get health insurance. This way, the insurance pays, and they don’t find themselves facing overwhelming personal debt.
In reality, though, even people who have health insurance can find themselves facing an extreme level of debt. Why isn’t health insurance a guarantee that this won’t happen?
Out-of-network services
For one thing, health insurance doesn’t mean that a person can simply go to any medical care provider. They may have a certain network of physicians and hospitals that they’re allowed to use. If they go somewhere else, then the insurance plan isn’t going to cover their costs, even though they paid for it.
For example, say that someone is involved in a car accident and their child is injured. The child needs emergency medical care. Is the parent going to take the time to carefully research what hospital is in their network, or are they just going to get the care their child needs and decide to focus on figuring out the financial side later?
High deductibles
Another thing to note is that many health insurance plans, especially those with a lower premium, have a very high deductible. If someone’s deductible is $10,000, then their health insurance may not cover any costs until they meet it. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the person can afford to cover $10,000 of sudden medical debt.
For these reasons and more, Americans can still find themselves facing high debt levels, and they need to know about all of their legal options, such as using bankruptcy to eliminate this debt.