Does Florida bankruptcy law cover debt from medical bills?

Whether you file for bankruptcy in Florida or any other state, you can usually discharge medical debt. Surveys show that many people decide to file for bankruptcy for medical reasons, either because they can't pay their medical bills or because a health condition prevents them from earning enough to get by. Bankruptcy provides a way out: Once your bankruptcy case is over, you will no longer be on the hook for medical debt. 

There are some debts that you will continue to owe after your bankruptcy. Congress has decided that these debts, including child support and back taxes, are so important that they must be repaid, regardless. If you want to keep property that secures a debt, such as your home, you will have to continue making your payments or repay the lender in a lump sum. Although your personal liability to repay these debts is wiped out in bankruptcy, the creditor still has the right to take the property. 

Medical debt is handled differently. It isn't considered one of the priority debts that must be repaid despite bankruptcy. Nor is it a secured debt. Like other unsecured, nonpriority debts, medical debt is discharged at the end of your case. If you file under Chapter 7, you won't have to pay any of it off (although your unsecured creditors may receive some repayment, if you have nonexempt property that the trustee takes and sells for their benefit). If you file under Chapter 13, as long as your plan is approved by the judge and you make your required plan payments, medical debts will be discharged at the end of your case, whether you repay them in full, in part, or not at all through your plan.