Health Insurance: What Happens When You Loose Yours

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and the associated High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), required for the tax savings and premiums savings, is what I usually talk and write about. Today I want to bring up some interesting figures and facts you may not have thought about or known about.

In February 2005 Harvard University released the results of its study, "Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy." The study interviewed 1,771 Americans in bankruptcy courts and determined that about half were "medically bankrupt"...driven to bankruptcy by medical bills not covered by health insurance. Also, included in the study and equally surprising were these three additional statistics.

Three-fourths of the "medically bankrupt" had health insurance at the beginning of their illness.

The majority of the "medically bankrupt" owned their own homes and had attended college.

Many people filing "medical bankruptcy" were middle-class workers with health insurance who were unable to meet their co-payments, deductibles, and exclusions in the employer-sponsored health insurance plan.

Since the 1980's, each year 1-2 million American families filed bankruptcy. The specific reasons were unknown. Most people assumed credit card spending, divorce and loss of employment to be among the major reasons. But, now with our new understanding that half are from medical illness, we must look closer at new and noteworthy options which don't leave our financial futures at risk.

More about this in the next few days.

I will give you some of the statistics showing where most medical accidents happen and what are the chance that you or your loved ones will be involved in one.

STAY TUNED!