Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of job losses, which in turn has left millions of Americans unable to pay their bills and mortgages. In some cases, struggling debtors are also dealing with long-term health problems as a result of the coronavirus on top of substantial medical debt. For many of these debtors, there are questions and concerns about how to handle the debt they are facing and whether it is possible to discharge medical debt from COVID-19 hospital stays and doctor’s appointments through consumer bankruptcy . In most cases, medical debt is dischargeable in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. If you have questions about discharging medical debt related to COVID-19 in a personal bankruptcy case, you should seek advice from one of the experienced Oak Park consumer bankruptcy attorneys at our firm. COVID-19 is Resulting in Medical Debt for Consumers When a person is diagnosed with COVID-19 and has a moderate or severe case of the virus, hospitalization ma...

Many thousands of people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 infections and have been incurring medical bills, while many thousands more owe significant medical debt due to previous hospitalizations, surgeries, and treatments. While you might think that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are holding off on aggressive debt collection tactics during the pandemic and while they are struggling to treat COVID-19 patients. However, according to a recent article in ProPublica , the opposite is actually true. As that article explains, while healthcare providers at hospitals across the country deal with sick patients, many of whom are fighting for their lives, the billing departments at those facilities are often hounding patients who owe money. Aggressive Hospital Debt Collection Continues Despite Job Losses Consumers across the country are dealing with many different effects of the coronavirus pandemic—from COVID-19 infections and illness to job loss and reduction in wages. While...

The topic of consumer bankruptcy is a significant one for a number of the Democratic presidential candidates, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Personal bankruptcy can allow debtors in Oak Park and across the U.S. to get a fresh start when they are struggling with a massive amount of consumer debt or can allow a struggling homeowner to prevent foreclosure with Chapter 13 bankruptcy . However, many of the Democratic presidential candidates contend that consumers should not even be grappling with much of this debt in the first place—especially medical debt. According to a recent article in Market Watch , Sen. Bernie Sanders has been focusing on medical debt and consumer bankruptcy, and the need to reconfigure the American healthcare system so that consumers are not considering bankruptcy solely as a result of medical debt. What do you need to know about consumer bankruptcy and medical debt? We will tell you a bit more about how Bernie Sanders and other Democratic hopeful...

In a previous post about debt collection lawsuits and a recent report from ProPublica , we mentioned that hospitals tend to be among the creditors who jump to filing lawsuits when patients do not make timely payments on their bills. We would like to explore this area a bit further by looking at a ProPublica report on statistics about medical bills and debt collection claims. If you require unexpected medical care or surgery and cannot afford to pay your bills immediately, should you be concerned about becoming the subject of a debt collection lawsuit? As the report explains, “debt collectors sue over medical bills as small as $60,” and it is important for consumers to think carefully about ways to protect themselves. In some situations, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy may allow you to discharge your medical bills and to avoid a debt collection lawsuit filed by a hospital or other healthcare facility. An experienced bankruptcy attorney in Chicago can discuss your options...

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...