Discussion paper
DP19169 Health Insurance Coverage and Personal Bankruptcy Reform
Bankruptcy provides American households with an implicit financial insurance by allowing for debt clearance. We use the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), which has reduced the effectiveness of this protection, to study how this reform has impacted individuals’ decisions regarding health insurance coverage, healthcare usage, and medical expenditures. The findings indicate that households hindered from filing for bankruptcy under the new law increased their average health insurance coverage, particularly among white families not at risk of asset seizure. This increase in insurance coverage led to higher healthcare utilization and lower out-of-pocket expenses, consistent with previous studies.
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