Medical bankruptcy: Myth versus fact
Medical bankruptcy: Myth versus fact
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DOI：
10.1377/hlthaff.25.w74
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发表时间：
2006-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
9.7
通讯作者：
Millenson, ML
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dranove, D;Millenson, ML
David Himmelstein 及其同事最近指出，54.5% 的个人破产是由医疗问题造成的，并威胁到美国中产阶级的偿债能力。他们提出全面的国民健康保险作为解决方案。对他们的数据进行的重新审查表明，医疗费用是仅 17% 的个人破产的一个促成因素，而且受影响的人的收入往往更接近贫困水平，而不是中产阶级。此外，为了使国民健康保险产生影响，它必须以比现在典型的私人或政府资助计划更广泛的方式定义“医疗”费用。
David Himmelstein and colleagues recently contended that medical problems contribute to 54.5 percent of personal bankruptcies and threaten the solvency of solidly middle-class Americans. They propose comprehensive national health insurance as a solution. A reexamination of their data suggests that medical bills are a contributing factor in just 17 percent of personal bankruptcies and that those affected tend to have incomes closer to poverty level than to middle class. Moreover, for national health insurance to have an impact, it would have to define "medical" expenses in a much broader way than is now typical of either private or government-funded plans.