When Staying Alive Means Going Bankrupt

[Nomad559]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20201807

Kathleen Aldrich, financially ruined by two bouts with ovarian cancer, is not who you might assume she is.

She raised three kids as a single mom. She worked hard for years. She had good jobs. She paid her bills. She lived in a nice house and drove a nice car. She had a decent credit rating. She had health insurance.

Now she has a record of bankruptcy and is the embodiment of the fear that nags at millions of U.S. families: that they are but one medical calamity away from losing everything. Like Aldrich, they — and perhaps you — could be.

[snappyturtle]

1. K&R I can't tell you how stories like this one terrorize me more

than anything else I can think of. There is no reason for this lady's life to turn into such a nightmare.

[Uben]

2. No surprise

The majority of bankruptcies are medically related, and have been for some time. I remember a time when almost everyone was covered by employer insurance, and this was not a problem.

The advent of new medical machines and procedures have driven healthcare costs out of sight. It has cost me over $100,000 in the last five years......and I have insurance!

People don't realize thst if we do away with insurance companies and switch to a national healthcare system, this part of the problem would dissipate to almost nothing. But, too much money in the insurance lobby, so we will continue to bite the dust.

[Fovea]

3. I sometimes wonder which worries me more

the idea that I might die at any time or the idea that I will never get my life back on track.