A medical emergency can upend a person's financial stability in a matter of a few days or weeks. One unexpected hospital stay or accident can lead to medical bills that can quickly outpace a Tennessee consumer's ability to keep up, resulting in overwhelming amounts of medical debt. This type of debt is one of the leading sources of financial hardship and bankruptcy filings across the country.
Pending legislation could reduce medical debt
Medical care is expensive, even for Tennessee readers who have health insurance. Some things are not covered, and people may still have to pay if they see a practitioner who is not in their network. Understanding what is covered is a complex, confusing process, and many patients often find themselves with surprise medical bills because of it. Medical debt is a serious problem for many thousands of Americans.
The grave consequences of significant medical debt
Health care is expensive, even for individuals with insurance. For some in Tennessee, just one unexpected medical event can lead to a barrage of bills that a person can never hope pay. Many Americans struggle with medical debt, and it is one of the leading causes of financial stress. The Consumer Financial Protections Bureau estimates that approximately 72 million people have medical debt.
How to start rebuilding credit during bankruptcy
Many people living in Tennessee suffer from some form of debt. In fact, one recent report indicated that nearly 70% of the state's population have some amount of medical debt. The state leads the country in medical bankruptcies because so many people are unable to repay the debts on their own.
More people are carrying overwhelming amounts of credit card debt
Most Tennessee consumers have credit cards, and many people use them for daily purchases, including groceries, clothes and much more. For many, their credit card is their option for emergency funding in case of an unexpected situation, such as an injury or other types of expenses they cannot pay for. Because of these reasons and many others, the amount of bad credit card debt in the United States is on the rise.
