Rhode Island Woman Presses Congress’ Buttons for a Health Care Bankruptcy Solution
Having to file for bankruptcy due to health care costs is a bitter pill to swallow: like many bankruptcy filers, they feel being grouped with self-inflicted extravagant spending bankruptcies is a gross misrepresentation of their pummeling misfortune.
The majority of individuals filing a medical bankruptcy in the last year were insured: 78%, in fact. One woman driven to medical bankruptcy in Coventry Rhode Island is determined to do something about it.
Kerry Burns was an accomplished social worker with a master’s degree. When her toddler son was 3 ½, he entered intensive care for cystic fibrosis and stayed there for 13 months. Over this period, her health costs reached a staggering 5 million dollars. The battle to save her 4-year-old son may have ended tragically, but Kerry Burns is going out fighting.
Bankruptcy remains the right solution for medical debtors; the public health care option wouldn’t change this, considering the 78% of filers that were insured. Kerry Burns and others like her want to change the rules slightly: proposed medical bankruptcy legislation calls for eliminating the mandatory “credit counseling” session prior to medical bankruptcy. They also believe that medical debtors should have $250,000 of their property exempt to stay on solid ground. She also contends that lawyers would still be paid their deserved charge in bankruptcy, but only after regaining some financial stability.
According to 2009 statistics, an individual files for a medical bankruptcy about every 30 seconds. Legal Helpers wants to make personal bankruptcy easier during these rough times for you. Please call 1-800-260-1402 for a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys and expert bankruptcy advice today.
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