Bankruptcy > Health, Health Care Insurance and Bankruptcy

Health, Health Care Insurance and Bankruptcy

by: Shobhana R. Kasturi

Imagine for a moment that your health has taken a turn for the worse. You need extensive medical attention and expensive treatments. Would you be prepared to account for these medical costs? Or would you or a family member ultimately have to deal with this financial burden?

Surely, you would not want to suffer the consequences of paying big medical bills on your own. This is why health insurance is so important. A Harvard study conducted in 2001 found that medical bills caused half of all bankruptcies. Therefore, you should make sure that you have some form of medical insurance. You should also make sure that your money is well-spent on insurance that meets your needs.

Insurance Provided by Employer

You should feel lucky if you are in the minority of people who receive health insurance through your employer. According to bankrate.com, company health insurance is actually part of a group insurance plan. Your employer pays for most of your insurance and also pays for your insurance with portions of your paychecks. Everyone in your group plan pays the same rate. The premiums paid by healthy members go towards paying the bills of sick members. Bankrate.com recommends that you study up on your employee benefits package to make sure that the insurance plan you choose provides you with the services and options you will need. If you are young and/or relatively healthy, you may want to consider choosing to pay for your company's cheapest health plan.

Bankrate.com also recommends that you review your insurance plan periodically. You may be paying more money for services you no longer need. For example, if you have children that have graduated from college or are no longer on your insurance plan, you should change your insurance plan accordingly. Additionally, if you have lost weight or quit smoking, you could qualify for a cheaper insurance plan.

Have You Been Laid Off?

If you have recently lost your job, you may want to consider the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (or COBRA) plan. With a COBRA plan, you pay for the medical benefits your former employer paid for on your own. The plan lasts up to 18 months. Keep in mind that the COBRA plan is a bit expensive. In addition to paying the premiums your company used to pay, you would also have to pay a 2% service fee.

Are You Uninsured?

Unfortunately, according to bankrate.com you may face discrimination from insurance companies if you try to insure yourself on your own. You may have difficulty buying insurance if you have any medical problems whatsoever. Remember, with a company group insurance plan, your insurance provider only has to pay the medical bills of the sick members in the group.

Look for health plans that have higher premiums. You may pay more upfront for medical coverage, but you will ultimately spend less on deductibles. At the very least, financial analyst Suz Orman recommends paying for worst-case-scenario insurance for medical bills that top $5,000. This way you can at least be sure that you will not have to foot the entire bill for high costs.

Conclusion

No one wants to live their life fearing the worst. By insuring yourself, you can at least rest assured knowing that you are prepared if your health takes a turn for the worse. As a result you or your family would not have to suffer the additional hardship of having to pay for your medical costs yourself. The good news is that if you can not afford insurance coverage, filing bankruptcy could eliminate your medical bills if necessary.

About The Author

Shobhana R. Kasturi is a partner with LegalHelpers and specializes in consumer bankruptcy law.

www.legalhelpers.com, the law firm of Macey & Aleman, is one of the nation's largest consumer bankruptcy firms. Legal Helpers can be contacted by phone, 888-743-5787 or by email, info@LegalHelpers.com.

Buying A Home After Bankruptcy - Get A Mortgage Loan After Bankruptcy

Buying A Home After Bankruptcy - Get A Mortgage Loan After Bankruptcy

by: Carrie Reeder

If you have a recent bankruptcy on your credit and are looking to get financing for a home, there is hope. Buying a home with bad credit will just put more emphasis on the other two factors needed to get a mortgage loan, which are; income verification and a down payment.

After bankruptcy most lenders want you to wait at least 2 years from the time of the bankruptcy discharge before they will consider you for a mortgage loan. After the two year waiting period is over, you should be able to get financing easily. You should also be able to get 100% financing as well. You can usually achieve this as long as at least most of your payments have been reported to the credit bureau as having been paid on time since the discharge of your bankruptcy.

If you are looking to get a mortgage loan after bankruptcy sooner than the 2 years from the time of discharge,...

Buying A Home After Bankruptcy - Get A Mortgage Loan After Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy > Buying A Home After Bankruptcy - Get A Mortgage Loan After Bankruptcy

What will it cost to file bankruptcy?

by: Deborah Beeksma

Thinking about filing for bankruptcy?
There are

significant upfront costs.
The purpose of this

article is to give you a general idea of what to

expect.

Your minimum cost will be around $350 if you

prepare your own forms that you download

for free from the courts.
These forms are

complicated and will take a long time to

complete.

COST #1 - CREDIT COUNSELING CERTIFICATE & BUDGET

Budget:
$50-$60

One of the first things that you will need to do is

to contact a court-approved credit counselor.

Counseling sessions take anywhere from 45 minutes to

2 hours. Following this counseling, you will receive

a certificate and budget which must be filed with the

court along with your bankruptcy paperwork.

This has to be done within six months before filing

your bankruptcy petition. Many...

What will it cost to file bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy > What will it cost to file bankruptcy?

Do You Need Bad Credit Help

Do You Need Bad Credit Help

by: Jeff Schuman

Do you need bad credit help? Are you one of thousands with no credit and no collateral to help secure approval, or you just have extremely bad credit and no one wants to help you, and all you hear is stories and more stories?

Bad credit is a term used to describe a poor credit rating. Common practices that can damage a credit rating include making late payments, skipping payments, exceeding card limits or declaring bankruptcy. Bad Credit can result in being denied credit.

Bad credit can result in a negative rating from the credit reporting agencies. Many factors can contribute to someone getting a "bad credit" rating, among these are non-payment of an account or late payments over an extended length of time. Whether non-payment of an account is willful or due to financial hardship, the result can be the same, a negative rating which will result in a low credit score. However, lenders...

Do You Need Bad Credit Help

Bankruptcy > Do You Need Bad Credit Help

Defining Bankruptcy

Defining Bankruptcy

by: John Mussi

Considered to be a hot topic by some and a grim reality by others, bankruptcy is a serious issue that many people around the world find themselves having to deal with. A large number of people live in fear of bankruptcy, and even more live with a number of misunderstandings and half-truths that prevent them from knowing exactly what bankruptcy is and how it works. Before making decisions about whether or not to file for a personal or business bankruptcy, it's important to take some time and research both what bankruptcy is and what it isn't? and to see what alternatives to bankruptcy might exist.

The information provided here isn't meant to answer all of the questions that you might have concerning bankruptcy, but it will hopefully help you to find some of the answers that you need and get you that much closer to making a very important financial decision.

What Bankruptcy Is

As the name might...

Defining Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy > Defining Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy Tips And Helpful Alternatives

Bankruptcy Tips And Helpful Alternatives

by: Dean Shainin

Before you file bankruptcy, it is a good idea to look into other alternatives if at all possible. New bankruptcy laws make it more difficult to file than it used to be.

Why Has Filing For Bankruptcy Doubled?

From the period of 1994 to 2004, filing for bankruptcy has doubled. Bankruptcy filing has spun out of control with consumers being targeted with easy credit. This has become a major cause for bankruptcy cases.

New Bankruptcy Laws?

There is now a new law for bankruptcy that was passed called the ?Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act?. People struggling to pay their credit debts are now going to have to deal with this new bankruptcy law.

Bankruptcy Can Stay On Your Credit Report For 10 Years

Filing for bankruptcy can be on your credit for up to a decade. It?s a good idea to look into alternatives for bankruptcy. Buying anything on credit...

Bankruptcy Tips And Helpful Alternatives

Bankruptcy > Bankruptcy Tips And Helpful Alternatives