Health Insurance--The Reason For Your Debt

 

     The issue of healthcare in this country has been going on for quite some time. Although this administration is making attempts at trying to find the solution for this massive problem, there are many issues that have to be dealt with. As is revealed in a New York Times article, Insured but Bankrupt, by Business Reporter Reed Abelson, three quarters of people pushed into bankruptcy due to medical expenses are ones that had health insurance.

 

     Joan Hamburg talked to Abelson on The Joan Hamburg Show WOR 710HD about the ongoing crisis. Abelson explained that “many people are not adequately covered by insurance even if they are technically insured to make sure they do not end up bankrupt or in financial ruins if they get sick.” Therefore, just giving everyone coverage as a means of healthcare reform will not work.

 

     “Congress is going to have to wrestle with how much out of pocket costs [people will have] to absorb if they are insured, and what kind of standards there will be if you’re going to be considered insured in this country,” Abelson said. The big question is if Washington will tackle the issue of what insurance should look like.

 

     She said right now people can buy insurance that leaves them completely unprotected. Many are told the insurance policies they invest in will cover them and offer them a piece of mind. However, “many people may not understand that there are no out of pocket maximums or that there are specific gaps in coverage.”

 

     Abelson also explained how difficult it is to read through policies therefore making it hard to understand exactly how they work. This is related to the example given in her article of a man who was hospitalized for heart procedures. While his room and board was covered for his duration in the hospital, he faced over $1,000 in medical fees that his insurance policy did not cover.

 

     She said real coverage is expensive, but for a lot of insurers who do not give a lot if you are a certain age, you are out of luck until you reach the age where Medicare can be applied. For many of these policies, “it will give you access to the hospital or doctor—but at the end of the day, if you’re facing this much medical debt, you’re really not that much better off than not having medical coverage at all,” Abelson said.