I'm not aware of any studies that have looked at the relationship between medical bankruptcies and the advent of Obamacare. The graph in the OP from Consumer Reports simply counts ALL bankruptcies, not specifically medical bankruptcies, charts the number of total bankruptcies decreasing, and
suggests that Obamacare has something to do with it. Hardly a work of scholarly research, IMHO.
On the other hand, there was
a study that looked at the rate of MEDICAL BANKRUPTCIES in Massachusetts to determine if Romneycare had might have caused a reduction in MEDICAL bankruptcies. According to that study:
Results
In 2009, illness and medical bills contributed to 52.9% of Massachusetts bankruptcies, versus 59.3% of the bankruptcies in the state in 2007 (P=.44) and 62.1% nationally in 2007 (P<.02). Between 2007 and 2009, total bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts increased 51%, an increase that was somewhat less than the national norm. (The Massachusetts increase was lower than in 54 of the 93 other bankruptcy districts.) Overall, the total number of medical bankruptcies in Massachusetts increased by more than one third during that period. In 2009, 89% of debtors and all their dependents had health insurance at the time of filing, whereas one quarter of bankrupt families had experienced a recent lapse in coverage.
Conclusion
Massachusetts' health reform has not decreased the number of medical bankruptcies, although the medical bankruptcy rate in the state was lower than the national rate both before and after the reform.