Tuesday's Number: $645,159

Tuesday is the day my local paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, publishes the weekly business section. In addition to special features, tips from stock experts, budgeting advice and the like, we get the judgment and bankruptcy listings.

As I did for much of last year, I will be tracking health care related filings. I include anything that is clearly a debt owed to a hospital, nursing home, physician or physician group, medical supplier, and so on; I do not include filings by insurance companies, many of which are so diversified it would not be a fair assumption that the filing is related to medical care or health insurance.

This week, twenty-five people were listed with new judgments totaling $645,159 to hospitals, doctors, or other medical providers. One was for over $291,000.  I look at that and just shake my head, first wondering how I'd ever be able to pay off that kind of debt, and second, thanking my lucky stars that I have health insurance, so the risk of me running up that kind of debt to a local medical provider in the first place is just about zero. Out of network, or out of area providers, well, that's somewhat of a different story under most insurance plans, but for a local hospital in my own backyard, I'm in pretty good shape.

This week, there were no listings for satisfied judgments to hospitals, doctors, or other medical providers.

And this week, there were no health-care related bankruptcies listed. 

None of the accounts was for less than $5,000.