There are few feelings as awful as being inundated with debt that you struggle to repay over the course of many months or years. It is even more frustrating when you had to take on that debt not for something that you chose to purchase, but to take care of serious health problems that left you no choice. If this is your situation, you are not alone. An increasing number of Americans fall into debt each year in order to obtain the healthcare that they require.
What the statistics show
Half of all Americans have some degree of medical debt, according to a recent study. Around 57% of these indebted Americans owe more than $1,000. Some owe much more.
This startling number is all the more worrisome when you consider that medical debt is on the rise. Just in 2020, only 46% of Americans had any medical debt – and the trend shows no signs of slowing. Estimates of the total amount of medical debt in this country range from $140 billion to $1 trillion.
How bankruptcy can help
There is no shame in resorting to filing for bankruptcy. Sometimes it is the only way to gain some breathing room when your monthly payments towards your debt have surpassed your monthly income and there is no other feasible way to climb out of the hole.
Depending upon your level of income – among other factors – you may need to choose between filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can discharge all of your debt and allow you to start anew, while Chapter 13 can buy you time and make your monthly payments more feasible.
While nobody relishes the idea of filing for bankruptcy, it doesn’t have to be a completely negative experience. Bankruptcy can give you a fighting chance in your struggle to take your life back from overwhelming medical debt.
