Cancer Survivors Dealing with Bankruptcy
One of the common misconceptions about consumer bankruptcy is that it is a tool used primarily by debtors who simply failed to properly manage their finances. Yet as a recent article in Reuters Health makes clear, many Americans—including Chicago residents—who are currently dealing with substantial debt are cancer survivors. Much of that debt is a result of the costly treatments they needed to beat the disease. What else do you need to know about medical bills and personal bankruptcy ? Rapidly Increasing Cancer Care Costs The Reuters Health article cites a recent study, which notes, “one-third of working-age cancer survivors go into debt, and 3% file for bankruptcy.” Why are so many cancer survivors dealing with nearly insurmountable debt? In short, the costs of cancer care in our country have increased rapidly in the last several years—“two to three times faster than other healthcare expenses,” according to the authors of the recent study. How much do cancer ther...