On October 17, 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act went into effect. One of the major goals of the legislation, according to US Senator Jeff Sessions (R, Alabama), was to disallow people from filing bankruptcy simply for the sake of taking advantage of a financial opportunity provided by the government.
"People who can afford to pay all or a part of their debts over a limited period of time should not get off scot-free," Sessions explained.
One year later, the number of bankruptcy filings for the first three quarters of 2006 fell by nearly one million from the previous year. For the time being, at least, the new law was making an impact.
But for the month of June 2007, consumer bankruptcy filings increased nearly 37% over the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. And for the first quarter of 2007, filings were up 66% over the same period in 2006.
While the 2007 numbers are down from the all-time high figures of 2005, they're still a sad reminder that bankruptcy—for a wide range of reasons—is widespread in the United States. It can happen to anyone, at any time. Even to doctors.
Just how vulnerable are physicians? Consider these case histories.
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