Tavere

Free Case Evaluation

510-255-4646
  • Attorney
  • About Firm
  • Practice Areas
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
    • Articles
    • Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
    • General Bankruptcy
    • Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
    • Bankruptcy Law
    • Bankruptcy News
    • Types of Debt in Bankruptcy
      • Bay Area Bankruptcy Attorney
  • Contact Us
Stop Worrying About Your Debt

A Better Tomorrow

Starting Today

Stop Worrying About your Debt.
Call us Now to Take the First Step.

Click Here
Millions in debt discharged for our clients

Open during

Covid-19

Millions in debt Discharged
For our Clients. Call Today, let us Help!

Click Here

Understanding Bankruptcy and Medical Debt

wpadmin on August 19, 2015 Posted in Types of Debt in Bankruptcy

At times, life can be very unpredictable. No one sees a major medical emergency or illness coming. An extended stay in a hospital or rehabilitation center can alter your life and your family’s lives forever – not to mention are extremely expensive.

Even for those of us with medical insurance, high-deductible insurance plans require that the patient pay a heavy percentage of their medical costs. At a time when you are already suffering and working may be impossible, the medical bills will begin to pile up. Unpaid medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy filings in this country even for the most financially responsible among us.

Discharge of Medical Debt in Chapter 7:

When you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy as an individual, your debt will be assigned a priority level based on whether the debt is deemed secured or unsecured debt. Unsecured debt generally has no collateral attached to it to guarantee collection and thus this type of debt is a low priority for the bankruptcy trustee to pay back to creditors.

Medical bills are considered unsecured debt with a low priority and therefore may be more easily discharged in a bankruptcy filing. Even if you are required to pay a portion of your medical debt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the remainder will be discharged or wiped out completely by your filing.

Limitations to Medical Debt Discharge in Chapter 7

There is no limit or cap to the amount of medical debt you are entitled to discharge in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, you must still initially qualify to file for a Chapter 7 type bankruptcy in order to attempt to have your medical debt discharged.

“Medical Bankruptcy”

There is no such thing as filing for a “medical bankruptcy.” You must either file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.

It may be true that you are filing bankruptcy because your medical debt has piled up and you have no way of paying the high bills but when you file for bankruptcy properly under the Code, you must list any and all the debt you owe. This will include debts like your credit cards and mortgage payments, in addition to your medical bills.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and Medical Debt

Medical debt may be totally discharged when you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, when you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, medical debt is not simply wiped away.

When you file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy your intention is to reorganize your debt. You will be required to make monthly payments to your creditors based on a court approved payment plan over the course of 3 to 5 years. Medical debt then is grouped with the rest of your unsecured debt in your payment plan and paid out to creditors on a monthly basis.

Limitations to Medical Debt Discharge in Chapter 13

Similarly to Chapter 7, there is no limit to the amount of medical debt you are able to reorganize. If your only debt is medical bills, your entire Chapter 13 monthly payment will go towards paying those medical creditors.

However, as with Chapter 7, a Chapter 13 filer must initially qualify in order to properly file. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is only available to someone with $383,175 or less in unsecured debt (in 2015). Most people have less than this amount in unsecured debt and easily qualify. But please note, considering the current high cost of medical care it is not impossible for someone to exceed this qualifying amount in medical debt and therefore be unable to file under Chapter 13.

A qualified bankruptcy attorney will be able to help you to ensure you meet all requirements before filing either for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

Recent Posts

  • Essays For Sale – Finest Quality Academic Papers

    Why you need to take essays available on the internet? When you purchase essays for sale from an internet-based seller, you obtain access t

    category : Articles

  • Infowars Bankruptcy Case Could End Up Shaping Subchapter V

    A hearing for a case recently began in a Texas bankruptcy court. The case involved the participation of over 50 individuals who joined on t

    category : Articles, Bankruptcy News, Blog

  • Interpreting Wagering Requirements for Mobile Casino Games

    With mobile platforms becoming more pervasive through everyday life, it’s only natural that mobile casino games follow suit. The mobi

    category : Articles

  • AVG Secure VPN Review

    AVG Secure is a good ant-virus product. This can be a subsidiary of Avast and developed by AVG Technologies. It really is available for Mac

    category : Articles

search this year

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • Search by Year

  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • img

    Quick Links

    • Bay Area Bankruptcy Attorney
    • About Firm
    • Practice Areas
    • Attorney
    • Communities Served
    • FAQ
    • Disclaimer
    • Contact Us

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google
    • Yelp

    Contact Us

    • Oakland Office

      1300 Clay St. Suite 600
      Oakland, CA 94612

    • Hayward Office

      24301 Southland Dr STE. 310 Hayward, CA 94545

    • 510 255 4646

    We serve the following localities: Alameda County, Alameda, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Oakland, San Leandro, Union City, Contra Costa County, Antioch, Brentwood, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Richmond, Walnut Creek, San Francisco County, San Francisco, Albany, Ashland, Dublin, Emeryville, Newark, Pleasanton, San Lorenzo, and Alamo.


    The Law Offices of Melanie Tavare is a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code


    San Leandro Medical Debt Discharge Attorney Melanie Tavare Home | Contact Hayward Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer Melanie Tavare

    2018 © Copyright law office of Melanie Tavare