ABSTRACT
Consumer bankruptcy and healthcare reforms have been on the agenda in the United States for over a decade. There have been successful legislative efforts in both policy areas, such as passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (Reform Act) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). However, such reforms have failed to recognize the interconnection of each policy area to the larger social safety net. For example, reforming consumer bankruptcy without concurrent reforms to the healthcare safety net leads to a broader social framework riddled with holes in which the working poor and middle class are trapped.
