Assuming nobody else is at fault

  • vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    78
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    ER patches you up, you get a large bill, you declare bankruptcy, life goes on.

    The question you should ask is, what happens if you have no insurance and you develop a serious chronic illness.

    • gressen@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      How does “life go on” with a bankruptcy and health issues?

      • vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        27
        ·
        1 year ago

        The point of a bankruptcy is to move on. You start off at zero again, but you can start building up assets again.

        As far as the health issues go, because of the bankruptcy and the ACA you probably qualify for medical care under one of the programs.

        Yeah, you get fucked over pretty good. Life goes on because you’re not dead. But everything you had, everything you worked for, is gone. You are left literally with life, not with your life.

        • Thorny_Thicket
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          1 year ago

          For all its faults the ability for an individual to declare bankruptcy sounds like a rather good thing in the US and something we don’t have in Finland. Granted we don’t have that level of healthcare bills either but if you somehow get youself millions into debt here it sticks with you your whole life.

          • TheDoctorDonna@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            1 year ago

            You still have to pay for the bankruptcy. I don’t know exactly how it works because I’ve never declared it, but it’s not free to go bankrupt either. In American Capitalism they will screw the poor people every way they can.

          • droans@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            1 year ago

            There has to be some form of bankruptcy, isn’t there?

            When you declare bankruptcy, you’re basically going to the courts and saying, “Look. I don’t have the money or the income to cover all my debts. I need help.” If the court agrees, they’ll force all your creditors to come to the table to negotiate.

            The court determines what assets you can keep and determines the best way to divvy up what’s left. Usually you keep your house, car, and basic necessities but that can vary. Some states don’t protect the house or car but even then the court will consider if it’s cheaper or better for you to keep either of those than to go rent a new house and take alternate transportation.

            Then they look at your income and decide what you can afford to pay over time. If your income is too low, they may consider all your debts settled at that point. Otherwise, they may set up a payment plan for so many years and consider you even after that.

            Medical debt is the number one reason for bankruptcy. To twist the knife a bit, people who have large medical bills are often in a physical condition that makes it hard to work. About 2/3 of all bankruptcies, or 530,000 families annually, cite their medical bills when filing. After that is mortgage debt (45%), living beyond their means (44.5%), providing help to friends and family (28.5%), student loans (25.5%), and divorce (24.5%).

      • jimbo@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        My parents went bankrupt like 4 times and it never seemed to make any difference to them. They’d just move on with life and have new credit debt racked up within a few months.