http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/HealthInsuranceandBankruptcyRates.pdf
"In a recent update to a previous study, Himmelstein et al (2009) concluded that in 2007, uninsured medical expenses or loss of income due to illness âcausedâ nearly two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all non-business bankruptcies in the United States. The authors blame this on Americaâs pluralistic health insurance system. Himmelstein and co-author Woolhandler are well-known proponents of Canadaâs government-run, single-payer medical insurance system. The implicit assumption of their study is that a single-payer system would have prevented or significantly reduced the number of bankruptcies observed in the United States. Following this logic, we should expect to observe a lower rate of bankruptcy in Canada compared to the United States, all else being equal. Yet the most recent data shows that the non-business bankruptcy rate in Canada is statistically the same as it is in the United States."
"In a recent update to a previous study, Himmelstein et al (2009) concluded that in 2007, uninsured medical expenses or loss of income due to illness âcausedâ nearly two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all non-business bankruptcies in the United States. The authors blame this on Americaâs pluralistic health insurance system. Himmelstein and co-author Woolhandler are well-known proponents of Canadaâs government-run, single-payer medical insurance system. The implicit assumption of their study is that a single-payer system would have prevented or significantly reduced the number of bankruptcies observed in the United States. Following this logic, we should expect to observe a lower rate of bankruptcy in Canada compared to the United States, all else being equal. Yet the most recent data shows that the non-business bankruptcy rate in Canada is statistically the same as it is in the United States."
