Cancer-Related Medical Debt and Bankruptcy
South Florida residents incur medical debt for many different health care issues, from chronic diseases that are not life-threatening but require frequent care to medical emergencies like heart attacks and cancer diagnoses. Cancer, in particular, can leave Floridians with significant amounts of medical debt that they had to take on in order to treat their cancer and to have a chance at survival. Significant and sudden debt associated with cancer diagnoses and treatment impacts a substantial percentage of patients with cancer, even those with health insurance. Our West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorneys can discuss cancer-related debt with you in more detail, and we can help you and your family with a bankruptcy filing when you are ready.
Understanding Cancer Diagnoses and Debt
Cancer diagnosis, and subsequent treatment, often results in patients incurring debt that they struggle to repay — even when they have health insurance.
Indeed, according to the American Cancer Society, about 47 percent of patients with cancer carry medical debt related to their cancer, and nearly 50 percent of those patients have cancer-related debt of $5,000 or more. For many of those patients, this is debt that has become difficult to pay off. Nearly 70 percent still owe medical debt within one year, and about one-third of patients with medical debt still owe three years later. The fact that is particularly startling is that about 98 percent of cancer patients with medical debt were insured.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that, among patients with cancer-related medical debt, there was a need to “cut spending on food, clothing, or other household basics.” Many have also lost their homes to eviction or foreclosure.
Filing for Personal Bankruptcy with Cancer-Related Medical Debt
If you have a significant amount of cancer-related medical debt that you are struggling to repay, which may coincide with other forms of debt, you should know that you may be able to get relief through a bankruptcy filing.
As a form of unsecured nonpriority debt, medical debt is nearly always dischargeable in bankruptcy, whether you plan to file for a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 reorganization bankruptcy. Both types of bankruptcy may be options for individuals or married couples in South Florida with medical debt.
Contact Our West Palm Beach Bankruptcy Lawyers Today for Help with Your Bankruptcy Case
If you or your spouse are struggling with cancer-related medical debt, or other medical debt arising out of a condition that has required significant treatment costs, you should speak with an experienced West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorney at Kelley Kaplan Delaney & Eller, PLLC about filing for personal bankruptcy. As we discussed above, medical debt — and particularly among cancer patients — is a significant burden on Americans who need treatment, even when they have what seems to be sufficient health insurance. We know how difficult it can be to struggle with debt on top of dealing with the physical and emotional toll of cancer, and we can assist you with a reorganization or liquidation bankruptcy today. Contact our firm to find out more about how we can help you.
Sources:
kffhealthnews.org/news/article/in-america-cancer-patients-endure-debt-on-top-of-disease/
fightcancer.org/policy-resources/survivor-views-majority-cancer-patients-survivors-have-or-expect-have-medical-debt
