Nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies in 2007 were due to illness or the inability to pay medical bills, a 50% increase from 2001, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Medicine. The nationally representative survey of 2,314 Americans who filed for bankruptcy in 2007 found that out-of-pocket medical spending averaged $17,943 among medically bankrupt families, while 48% of debtors said hospital bills were their largest single out-of-pocket expense. Just 30.8% of debtors or a member of their family were uninsured at the time they filed for bankruptcy.