Tue, Sep 2, 2008 (2:09 a.m.)

If politicians in Washington need more proof that rising health care costs are hurting older Americans, they will want to delve into new research that has found an alarming increase in bankruptcies filed by senior citizens.

The study, sponsored by AARP, was conducted by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project and co-authored by Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren. The researchers found that the rate of bankruptcy filings from 1991 through 2007 more than doubled for individuals 65 and older and more than quadrupled for seniors 75 and older.

The researchers blamed at least some of the problem on the inability of seniors to keep up with medical bills, according to the Associated Press, which obtained some of the study results last week in advance of its scheduled publication in the Harvard Law and Policy Review in January.

Other problems contributing to the bankruptcies are high mortgage payments, financial scams and the rising cost of consumer goods.

Wilona Harris, a 71-year-old Florida resident who was forced into bankruptcy by medical bills, told the AP: “Sometimes you think, ‘Let me go jump off a bridge somewhere.’ ”

Some money problems affecting older Americans today possibly could have been avoided with wiser financial planning before they reached retirement. But many of them barely made a livable wage while they were working and depend heavily on paltry Social Security checks, along with basic Medicare, the federal health care program for seniors.

When they become seriously ill, whopping medical bills often arrive in the mail shortly thereafter that are not fully covered by Medicare. Often, their only financial option is bankruptcy.

While Congress continually tinkers with Medicare, no one has come up with a workable solution that can help Harris and other seniors avoid financial ruin after they have suffered a medical setback. Certainly the nation’s top medical and financial minds can come up with better answers. We owe it to older Americans to make sure that whatever financial resources they have are not eaten up by prescription drug costs and visits to the doctor.