Bankruptcy Indiana

Trouble seems to come in bunches these days.  Early this year, I mentioned in my Indiana bankruptcy blog the renewed SCHIP program that the U.S. Senate had passed, expanding health coverage by more than four million children. I explained that my reason for being so interested in health insurance coverage is that medical bills are one of the top three
causes of bankruptcy.

Four months later, despite the progress with SCHIP, the situation appears to have worsened for children. The Wall Street Journal points out that, at the same time as the recession is forcing hospitals and doctors to cut costs, in at least two dozen states, Medicaid has cut back on its reimbursements to those doctors and hospitals. Since one in every four U.S. children gets healthcare through Medicaid, when Medicaid is cut back, that particularly hurts kids, since doctors cannot afford to take them on as patients.

The families of children eligible for SCHIP have incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid yet too poor to afford private medical coverage.   The increased number of job layoffs has meant not only loss of medical coverage, but loss of the income that makes a family's children SCHIP-eligible, pushing down into Medicaid ranks.  

The saddest aspect of this whole situation is that medical providers, dependent upon insurance company and government reimbursements, are becoming less flexible about dealing with patients who are not covered and who cannot pay, and, in many cases, the children are in desperate need of ongoing treatment. A Kaiser Foundation study estimates that when it comes to asthma, diabetes, and severe trauma, health insurance is an especially key factor in reducing mortality rates in children.

From my vantage point as an Indiana bankruptcy attorney, I can see that, in many cases, filing bankruptcy may be the only way for the family to make a fresh financial start, but after emerging from bankruptcy, parents will find two factors crucial for themselves and their children: the availability of well-paid jobs, and the accessibility of healthcare.