Can I file bankruptcy on medical debts in Mississippi?

One common reason for filing bankruptcy in Mississippi is medical bills that become unmanageable. Often, incurring large medical debts is completely beyond your control. Insurance is expensive and you may not be able to afford it if it is not offered through your job or if you aren't working. If you make too much money to get free insurance or health care, but too little to buy your own coverage, one medical calamity can leave you broke and drowning in debt. As such, the bankruptcy code recognizes this problem and permits you to file bankruptcy on medical debt.

Medical debt is not secured, which means there is no collateral and nothing guaranteeing it. It can be included in both a chapter 7 and a chapter 13 bankruptcy, but the results of the bankruptcy and the impact on the medical debt you have will be different depending on which chapter of bankruptcy you file:

• Those who make below the median income in Mississippi or who pass a means test will be eligible to file under chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. This permits you to have your medical debts discharged, which means you will not have to make any further payment on them. You will, however, have to have non-exempt items you own sold, including cars and personal property valued over a set dollar amount. 
• Those who make above the median income in Mississippi and who do not pass the means test will be eligible for a chapter 13 bankruptcy filing. Under this type of bankruptcy protection, you will keep all of your possessions, but you will also not just have the medical debts immediately discharged. Instead, your medical debts and other debts will become part of a chapter 13 repayment plan. You will pay back some of those debts through this plan over 3-5 years.

To get help determining what chapter of bankruptcy is right for you and to learn how it will deal with your medical debt, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced bankruptcy attorney for guidance and advice.