Many people have dealt with rising healthcare costs by borrowing against their home. Now that’s gotten tougher, and so is paying the medical bills. [Thanks L!]
TUESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) –Since 1999, Keith and Deborah Krinsky of Magalia, Calif., have seen their health insurance deductible soar from $1,000 to $10,000.
And their health-care costs have put them in a financial hole.
A combination of Keith’s chronic asthma and potential heart problems, Deborah’s connective tissue disorder and fallen arches, and their kids’ various scrapes and stumbles led them to amass a pile of credit card debt and forced them to refinance the mortgage on their house — which they now are having trouble paying.
Keith, once a plant manager for a trucking company in Chico, took a $30,000 pay cut to get a job with better health benefits. Deborah, who doesn’t work because of her disability, said they are still fighting desperately to stave off foreclosure.
"Right now, we are in the process of losing our home. We will probably go to my mother-in-law," Deborah said Monday.
The Krinskys are not alone in their scramble to make ends meet because of medical issues.
The connection between medical debt and the current credit crisis isn’t a direct line, but it’s strong enough to prompt Mike Leavitt, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to declare at a recent news conference, "If we had any idea how many mortgages were foreclosed because people were crowded out by medical issues . . . Health-care costs are at the heart of many of the things happening."
Many of us have poked fun at those who frivoled away their home equity on everything from expensive cars to plastic surgery, then lost their home to foreclosure. The fact is, many Americans have made more prosaic and necessary purchases by using their home equity. HELOCs have been used for everything from medical care to auto repair and braces.
Without any home equity, many Americans are going to be facing tough choices about their health and their safety.
Bubble Meter
Ohio Fraudclosure
Northern Virginia Housing Bubble Fallout
Mish's Global Economic Analysis
UK House Bubble
Breaking News Relevant Articles© Copyright 2012 Housing Doom | Copyright© 2011, AuthentiCraft, Inc.
Mike Leavitt’s on to something. What he’s on to is the fact that uncovered medical expenses are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the U.S. And if you think that having insurance will protect you from such a fate, think again. It happens to the insured as well.
Yes, Igor, I am outraged.
Gee, you know what Malthus would say?
“The Krinskys shouldn’t have had children. Or gotten married.”
JRyskmpr-
With five kids of my own, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a financial investment with a lousy ROI. Having kids is rough on the bottom line. That said, I’ve gotten used to having them around- I think I’ll keep them. : )
I just wondered about her hesitation to explain her HELOC. I have a feeling that poor choices created a lot of her problems- not subprime lending.
Two years ago I got told my job was moving from Oz to the US, and I could go with it or be out of a job. I turned down the move and laughed when I did it. One big reason was medical care.
A month ago my 3yo drank a small bottle of brass instrument cleaner, got a ride in an ambulance, a night in the ICU, and an X-Ray to check for lung damage. For several hours there was a nurse in constant attendance and a doctor a few meters away.
Total bill in $Aus? Zero. The value of our dollar is dropping against the $US, but I’m pretty sure that converts to roughly zero US dollars too.
My government negotiates prices for medication under the PBS, so a course of most meds for the low income crowd is a few dollars.
A few years ago we signed a free trade agreement with the US. One of the big uproars was about the US adding anti-PBS clauses.
From someone on the outside, it looks like your government is looking after the big companies with money as opposed to the people. Both the medical and the financial crisis seem to have the same cause (there’s money to be made).
Several years ago an American tourist over here was shot in the foot in a bank robbery. The police found her more than a mile away, hobbling along. She explained that she left because there was no way she could afford medical treatment. High medical bills isn’t a new thing.
You medical problems seem to me to be more of a long term warning of where your government was taking you. Guess what? You’re there.