Woman Who Lost Son Fights For Bankruptcy Changes

LARRY MARGASAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Rhode Island woman urged senators Tuesday to ease bankruptcy rules for people devastated by medical debt, as she described the pain of losing a child and going broke from his health care bills.

The frightful experience of Kerry Burns, of Coventry, R.I., raised a crucial question of bankruptcy law: should people going broke due to high medical bills get a break over those bankrupted by divorce or high credit card bills?

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., chaired the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on his bill to carve out an exception for people whose medical bills were the main cause of their financial distress.

Whitehouse's approach was backed by Elizabeth Edwards, a cancer patient and wife of former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. Representatives of conservative think tanks argued no special status was justified.

Edwards, who is married to the former Democratic senator and presidential candidate, praised Whitehouse's plan as a way to give medical debtors "a less burdensome, less catastrophic bankruptcy option that recognizes the unique circumstances that have driven them to bankruptcy."