Medical debt across America
June 20, 2022
Kaiser Health News published an extended piece about medical debt among Americans. The investigation drew upon the results of a survey, and the findings presented in the article seem bleak. The survey of almost 2,400 adults found, for example, that over 40% of U.S. adults "currently have some debt caused by medical or dental bills" and that half U.S. adults "don't have the cash to cover an unexpected $500 health care bill." Beyond that, the survey asked questions that might not normally be covered when researchers analyze medical debt. For example, the poll found that 10% of survey respondents "owe money to a friend or family member who covered their medical or dental bills" and over 15% of survey respondents "are paying off a medical or dental bill they put on a card" -- both forms of medical debt that might not show up in traditional analysis.
The article also discussed some consequences of the debt, starting with the patients' inability to pay and their subsequent harassment by debt collectors. About two-thirds of respondents apparently have delayed care that either they or a family member has needed, and about "1 in 7 people with debt said they've been denied access to a hospital, doctor, or other provider because of unpaid bills." These statistics seem grim, and perhaps suggest that there might be widespread support for something in the industry to change substantially.