We have had some awesome reader comments and questions on our bankruptcy articles over the last week or so.

I wanted to take little time to answer the questions, and also to thank several of our readers.

Special thanks go out to Clever Dude, for linking the posts, and also to our readers Jeannie, Jnet, Rann and Susan who took the time to share some of their opinions and expertise in the comments section of my articles “Can Your Creditors Still Sue You After Bankruptcy?” and “Repairing Your Credit After Bankruptcy Part 1” I really appreciate your comments and advice!

As for the questions, let’s take a look:

One of our readers, Jean wondered:

Hi,

I thank you in advance for your kind advice. I am seriously considering declaring bankruptcy. A friend recently told me that American Express Card debt cannot be listed when declaring bankruptcy just as federal school loans. Is that correct?
Thank you and have a nice weekend.

Jean Bellego

Jean,

American Express credit cards get included just like any other credit cards when you file for bankruptcy. To the best of my knowledge (and research) the only things you really cannot include when you file bankruptcy are student loans, and any money that you owe the government.

All credit cards are included. So, that is one less account to worry about. If you want to verify this on your own, you can give any bankruptcy lawyer in your area a call. That is a question that they can answer for you over the phone for free- without you even having to set foot in the office.

Thanks for your question.

We also had another reader, Salinguesa, who asked:

Can you tell me more about how you went about obtaining adequate health care coverage? My current job does not offer health benefits. My husband’s job does, but we can not afford to pay an eighth of his take home pay to cover him, much less a quarter of his take home pay to cover both of us.

We had looked into an individual policy in the past, but since my husband has been diagnosed with diabetes, we were told that he would never be able to be approved for an individual policy. This is a terrible irony — after the diagnosis, my husband lost a lot of weight and went from being told that he would be on insulin for the rest of his life to controlling his blood sugar with diet alone. He’s now, as a diabetic, in better health than he’s ever been before in his life.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

Thanks for your question Salinguesa!

You and your husband should both be proud of the changes you are making!

After we declared bankruptcy, we purchased health insurance through my husband’s job – and we bought the maximum amount we could reasonably afford (which wasn’t much at first.) Most likely his company offers several different plans, so you might want to check to see if you can get by cheaper than you think. You also have a few other options (that do not involve expensive individual coverage).

• You can seek out government assistance - this will depend on your income, but it is available.
• You can use free, or low cost health clinics - I have done this before, and it wasn’t a terrible experience.
• For things like Dental or Vision coverage, check out your local college. Most of them have discounted programs where you can go in and let the students take care of you. I have also done this, and it was mostly not a horrible experience. Most of these schools have a sliding payment scale depending on your income, and they are used to helping people with no coverage. If you have a choice, go near the end of the semester, not the beginning.
• There are tons of Dental and Vision discount clubs that let you choose a network. You can sometimes get services done as much as 60% off by paying about $15 a month.
• All hospitals have a low income assistance program. You just need to ask the billing department what you need to do. This can usually cut your average bill in half in case of an emergency.

None of that really answered your question, I know! I just wanted you to know the options are out there if you really can’t afford any sort of insurance right now.

So, if you want coverage, and you can’t afford an individual plan, and you can’t find a cheap enough alternative at your husband’s job, then I recommend taking any of these steps:

• Take a part time job (you or your husband) - with a restaurant , or grocery store chain, even McDonald’s. All of these places offer low cost family insurance if you work around 15 hours a week.
• Seriously consider getting different full time job that pays more for benefits than they one your husband currently has.
• Look for low cost group coverage - This can still get pretty expensive! But you can visit places like the National Writers Union (It’s free to join) and research their plans. Since they all go in as a group, it’s a little cheaper than just an individual policy – but not by much.

Honestly, since we wanted the insurance coverage after our bankruptcy, my husband changed jobs, and I worked two jobs just to have it. Things have evened out now, with us just working one job a piece, but we really had to change out lives around to get everything in order, and to have enough money to pay the premiums.

Thanks again for your question.

If you have a question, or a comment, please give me your thoughts below – I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks,
Jenna

Keep Reading:

• Will Credit Counseling Hurt Your Credit Score?
• Bankruptcy Laws Are Changing on October 1, 2008
• Repairing Your Credit After Bankruptcy Part Two

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 09:45 and is filed under Bankruptcy FAQ. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.