According to a new study which compared U.S. Bankruptcy Court records to cancer registry data on nearly 232,000 adult cancer survivors in Western Washington over 14 years, bankruptcy rates quadrupled within five years of a cancer diagnosis.
The study showed that compared to the general population, bankruptcy rates among cancer survivors were nearly twice as high one year after diagnosis, and the median time to bankruptcy was 2.5 years after cancer diagnosis. After five years, the bankruptcy rates quadrupled. Bankruptcy rates for patients who were surviving lung, thyroid, leukemia, or lymphoma type cancers increased as survival time increased.
According to researchers, the risk of insolvency for cancer patients is not well-known, but the study has helped researchers determine how financial insolvency risk varies by cancer type, treatment and other factors.
Medical illness is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy filings. Rising medical bills, increased survival rates and inadequate insurance coverage can cause an increase in bankruptcy filings.
Cancer patients who are over 65 years of age and typically on Medicare have a lower risk for insolvency than the younger group. According to the study, we can conclude there is a correlation between those who have a minimum amount of health coverage and illness related bankruptcies.
We need to find new ways to alleviate the financial problems associated with catastrophic illnesses like cancer. But until the new healthcare laws have been tested, filing for bankruptcy protection may be one of your best options for solving problems caused by a health crisis.
Filing for bankruptcy is a legal proceeding designed to protect both creditor and debtor and to allow the honest person or business to work their way out of a bad financial situation. Bankruptcy is a tool used by our society to potentially help alleviate a bad financial situation between two parties.
If you have unexpected medical bills and you are facing medical bill collectors hounding you for the debt, you might want to consider filing for bankruptcy protection. Filing for bankruptcy initiates an automatic stay. Automatic stays stop certain lawsuits, foreclosures, utility shut-offs, evictions, repossessions, garnishments, attachments, and debt collection harassment.
If you need relief from the stress of debt and you live in or around the metropolitan areas of Albany, Schenectady, or Troy, New York, contact us at www.betterbankruptcy.com . We will help you find a bankruptcy attorney in your area who will answer your bankruptcy questions.
by Chic Sales
Chic has been a content writer for the past two years after spending numerous years as an Educator, Christian Minister, Coach, and Business Entrepreneur. He is a specialist in contractual specifications and detail, writes fictional novels, religious works, short stories, and has been published in content writing for immigration law, traffic law, bankruptcy law, and divorce Law. He has also had religious works and short stories published. Chic is a native Texan and that has held numerous certifications and licenses from a wide variety of fields, including a Series 7 and Series 63, which entitles him to speak authoritatively in financial matters. He holds a BS Degree from Texas A&M in Canyon and an M-DIV from Southwestern in Ft. Worth.
