"The medical condition caused us to do things we never thought we'd have to do," said Tom Choi, 35, of Buena Park. "My dad was a pretty proud guy. And we told him [declaring bankruptcy] is the only option you have.
"We could support our parents if we had to, but we couldn't support a million-dollar hospital bill," he said.
Unlike others who filed for bankruptcy, medical debtors were more likely to have had a lapse in health coverage, either because they could no longer afford to pay for insurance or they changed plans and, because of their preexisting ailments, lost coverage.
Three-quarters of the study's interviewees had medical coverage when they first got sick, but later lost it.
The study, which will follow up with interviewees to see how the bankruptcy affects their lives, found that one-third of medical debtors continued to have problems paying bills, particularly mortgages, rent and utilities.
"A person may recover physically from a medical problem, but they never recover financially," Warren said.
