When you file bankruptcy, you will list all of your unsecured debts. This includes, but is not limited to, medical debt, credit cards, personal loans, student loans, tax debts, etc. Not all debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy, but barring some sort of fraud, medical debt is.
When you file bankruptcy you will discharge your liability on the medical debt, but if there is a co-liable party, they will still be on the hook. For example, say you and the other parent to your children do not both file a bankruptcy case but you have medical debt for your joint minor children. If just one of you files bankruptcy, the other parent, who did not file, will still be liable for the medical bills of the children. As another example, in the state of Minnesota, if medical debt is incurred when you are married and living together, it is the liability of both spouses. If one spouse doesn’t file, the other spouse could still end up paying the medical debt, even though the debt was discharged in the bankruptcy case for the filing spouse.
If you file bankruptcy on your medical providers, you cannot be turned away for emergency services. That being said, you can be turned away for other services. This isn’t all that common, but if you are worried about this, speak to your attorney about it.
If you have questions about bankruptcy and would like to do a free consultation to go over your options, visit www.lifebacklaw.com to speak with an attorney. You will be glad you did!