Dealing with doctor's bills

A trip to the doctor's this morning for a pulled tendon got me thinking again about the costs and pitfalls of medical bills. Combining this simple doctor's visit with a prescription, lab work and trip to the physical therapist, makes the total bill for this simple injury pretty hefty. Luckily, I have health insurance...right?

Even health insurance coverage may not be enough to prevent medical bills from causing financial distress. According to a report by Harvard's law and medical schools, costly illnesses trigger about half of all personal bankruptcy filings. And most shockingly, more than 75% of those people had health insurance.

“Unless you’re Bill Gates, you’re just one serious illness away from bankruptcy,” said Dr. David Himmelstein, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of medicine. “Most of the medically bankrupt were average Americans who happened to get sick.”

The moral to this story? Have good insurance and prepare for the worst case situation. If you were hit by a car or diagnosed with cancer today would you have enough savings and available credit to help you get through it financially?