Sen Franken Smacks Down Conservative Health Care Arguments (2009)

[think]

Uploaded on Oct 26, 2009
Senator Al Franken (DFL- Minnesota) questions Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the conservative think tank Hudson Institute about bankruptcies caused by medical crises. Franken points out there are no such bankruptcies in Switzerland, France or Germany. Furchgott-Roth tries to bring up a flawed study about cancer survivor rates in those countries. Franken cuts her off, noting that the study she is talking about cherry-picked information and included easily survivable cancers in the US.

[rurallib]

1. Wonder how much the ACA has affected the rate of bankruptcy due to

medical costs in this country? Logic would tell me it hasn't stopped but has most likely slowed tremendously.

[think]

2. It probably has slowed them. But medical bills are still the number one cause of bankruptcy

{Bold added for emphasis.}

Top 10 Reasons People Go Bankrupt

03/24/2015 04:23 pm ET | Updated May 24, 2015

In today's economic climate, personal bankruptcy has climbed at an alarming rate. According to US bankruptcy court statistics, more than 1.5 million people file for bankruptcy every year. Most significantly, nearly 97 percent of bankruptcy filings are made by individuals, not by businesses.

Here are the top 10 reasons why people go bankrupt:

1. Medical Expenses

A recent Harvard University study showed that medical expenses account for approximately 62 percent of personal bankruptcies in the US. Interestingly, the study also showed that 72 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy due to medical expenses had some type of health insurance, thus debunking the myth that only the uninsured face financial catastrophes due to medical-related expenses....

Full article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simple-thrifty-living/top-10-reasons-people-go-_b_6887642.html

[tclambert]

3. Yes, but in Canada, many patients are forced to eat poutine!

Actually, they are not forced to eat it. Many people choose to eat poutine willingly, despite it sounding disgusting. Those poor, poor Canadians have yet to discover chili cheese fries. Surely that would save them once and for all.

Okay, Sen. Franken, I admit none of that had anything to do with bankruptcies caused by medical bills.