Harvard Study Update for 2009

An ongoing Harvard study regarding medical bills and bankruptcy continues to yield shocking facts:

62% of personal bankruptcies are due to an unforeseen medical event

75% of the people who had to file had health insurance

92% of those who filed had out of pocket costs in excess of $5000

More than half were well educated, middle class home owners.

How is this possible? Because health insurance is designed to pay doctors and hospitals for the services that they provide less any coinsurance, copayments and deductibles that apply to the specific plan. They do not help with out of pocket costs or ongoing life expenses which often escalate when a medical event occurs. Supplemental insurance like the plans offered by Aflac can be the difference between financial survival and financial devastation.