A study of Bankruptcy filings in the United States showed that medical expenses contribute to two-thirds of bankruptcy filings in U.S. For many Americans, putting one’s health first can mean putting one’s financial status at risk. Study Finds described:

The study, led by Dr. David Himmelstein, Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Hunter College and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, indicates that about 530,000 families each year are financially ruined by medical bills and sicknesses. It’s the first research of its kind to link medical expenses and bankruptcy since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010.

“Unless you’re Bill Gates, you’re just one serious Illness away from bankruptcy,” Himmelstein says in a release by the Physicians for a National Health Program. “For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection. Most of us have policies with so many loopholes, copayments and deductibles that illness can put you in the poorhouse.”

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