High Deductibles Increase Medical Debt

Medical debt problems were once blamed on a lack of insurance coverage. Now that uninsured rates are down people are still experiencing high levels of medical debt. A closer looks reveals several factors. One is that high deductibles increase medical debt.

High Deductibles Increase Medical Debt

Many people assume that just because they have health insurance they won’t experience medical debt. The problem is that many people have terrible health plans. High deductibles and multiple exclusions are one example. These health plans are terrible for one reason: to save company money. Whether it is the employer offering health coverage or the health insurance company, both are trying to cut costs. They do this by shifting the costs to the employee/patient.

Chronic or complicated medical illness often have their treatments excluded from coverage. An excluded treatment means these people pay out of pocket. You can imagine how quickly that adds up for those needing monthly or yearlong treatments.

High deductibles present another problem. Some people have to have a high deductible in order to afford their monthly premium payment. The higher the deductible, the lower the monthly payment. However, treatment costs are pay out of pocket until the deductible is met. This means thousands of dollars a year. Basically, people are paying a monthly premium for little to no benefit.

It isn’t uncommon for people to reach the end of the year without having met their deductible. Again, this means any and all care received is paid for out of pocket as those claims go “towards the deductible”.

As you can see, even being insured isn’t going to prevent you from having medical debt. However, there are some ways to relieve medical debt. Filing for bankruptcy is one option that can eliminate medical debt. Contact a Citrus Heights bankruptcy attorney to find out more about how bankruptcy can help.