62% of Bankruptcies Come From Medical Bills (for 1/7/12)

People who got sick over the past decade risked going broke if they did not get healthy. People who got ill accounted for 62% of all 2007 bankruptcies. From 2001 to 2007, bankruptcies caused by illness soared 20%. These people were generally well-educated homeowners in the middle class and covered by health insurance. As a share of all bankruptcies during this time period, the share related to sickness doubled. It is likely that the deep economic recession and slow recovery of the past five years has worsened these problems, propelling the need for healthcare reform. Lobbying from healthcare companies prevented stronger reforms like a public option or single-payer healthcare that would have helped keep sick people from going bankrupt. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/05/1051848/-Medical-bills-cause-62-percent-ofbankruptcies