An article in The New York Times by Nicholas D. Kristof, "Until Medical Bills Do Us Part" tells about a long-term married couple who were advised to divorce to ease the financial toll the husband's dementia would place on the famiily.
"The hospital told M. not to waste time in dissolving the marriage. For five years after any divorce, her assets could be seized ” precisely because the government knows that people sometimes divorce husbands or wives to escape their medical bills ... M. still helps her husband and, quietly, continues to live with him and care for him. But she worries that the authorities will come after her if they realize that they divorced not because of irreconcilable differences but because of irreconcilable medical bills. There were awkward questions from friends who saw the divorce announcement in the newspaper."
Kristof's article also mentions "A study reported in The American Journal of Medicine this month found that 62 percent of American bankruptcies are linked to medical bills. These medical bankruptcies had increased nearly 50 percent in just six years. Astonishingly, 78 percent of these people actually had health insurance, but the gaps and inadequacies left them unprotected when they were hit by devastating bills."
The fact that married couples could lose their savings and combined assets if a spouse becomes seriously ill isn't right. The fact that a surviving spouse would "face a bleak retirement with neither her husband nor her savings" isn't moral. What do situations like M.'s say about our society's support of marriage?
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What does it say about the medical field. I had a minor knee surgery. In limns terms, a piece of lateral minuscus was removed. The facility charged $6,150 for the use of the operating room for 45 min. the doctor charged $4,900 and the anesthesiologist $1,150. OVER $11,000 THOUSAND!!!!! for a 45 min. outpatient, minor surgery!!!!! United States of America, the land of the free, well I think this country has way too much freedom for abusers, like the medical field.
It is pretty sad to see marriages ending in divorce, especially when it has nothing to do with their like/dislike for eachother, but something so trivial as medical bills. I think we need universal healthcare!
It is a very important issue to discuss.
Wow. These are such heart-wrenching stories. Always good to research all of your options here.