RI woman to testify at Senate panel on medical reform

Published Oct. 20, 2009 at 4:10 p.m.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Rhode Island resident is scheduled to testify Tuesday morning at a hearing of a Senate subcommittee that is examining potential bankruptcy reforms aimed at medical debtors.

Kerry Burns, a Coventry resident who lost her home and filed for bankruptcy after her 4-year-old son died of complications from cystic fibrosis, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight, which is chaired by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

Whitehouse said, "Families in Rhode Island and throughout the country are forced to file for bankruptcy every year by out-of-control medical expenses. As we work to fix the larger problems with our broken health care system, we also need to help those already struggling under the oppressive weight of medical expenses."

The hearing is now airing live on C-Span.

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