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News Articles: medical debt

Marcus and Allyson Ward were paying off a debt dating back to the birth of their twins, Theo and Milo. They are among 100 million Americans with medical debt, according to a KHN/NPR investigation.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief

More than 50 consumer and patient groups want the Biden Administration to aggressively protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. The effort follows a KHN/NPR investigation.

March 07, 2023
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
Jeff and Kareen King received a hospital bill for $160,000 a few weeks after Jeff had a procedure to restore his heart rhythm.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

'Medical cost-sharing' plan left this pastor on the hook for much of a $160,000 bill

Instead of health insurance, the Rev. Jeff King had signed up for an alternative that left members of the plan to share the costs of health care. That meant lower premiums, but a huge hospital bill.

January 10, 2023
|
By:
  • Bram Sable-Smith
Dr. Eckart Rolshoven examines a patient at his clinic in Püttlingen, a small town in Germany's Saarland region. Although Germany has a largely private health care system, patients pay nothing out-of-pocket when they come to see him.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Lessons from Germany to help solve the U.S. medical debt crisis

What would a world without medical debt look like? In Germany's former coal-mining region medical debt is almost unknown, despite economic challenges and health problems. Here's why.

December 14, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
Many hospitals are now partnering with financing companies to offer payment plans when patients and their families can't afford their bills. The catch: the plans can come with interest that significantly increases a patient's debt.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

How banks and hospitals are cashing in when patients can't pay for health care

Some credit cards advertised by hospitals lure in patients with rosy promises of convenient, low-interest payments on big bills. But interest rates soar if you can't quickly pay off the loan.

November 17, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey and
  • Aneri Pattani
Diagnosed with cancer five years ago, Monica Reed of Knoxville, Tennessee, was left with nearly $10,000 in medical bills she couldn't pay. Medical debt is more prevalent among the Black community in Knoxville, than among whites.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Why Black Americans are more likely to be saddled with medical debt

Black communities in the U.S. suffer disproportionately from health care debt. The reasons go back to segregation and a history of racist policies that have limited Black wealth.

October 28, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey

Tagged as: 

  • Mental Health

Paying for mental health care leaves families in debt and isolated

A youth mental health crisis and a shortage of therapists and other care providers who take insurance are pushing many U.S. families into financial ruin. But it's rarely acknowledged as medical debt.

October 19, 2022
|
By:
  • Yuki Noguchi
Penelope Wingard of Charlotte, N.C., has survived breast cancer, a brain aneurysm and surgery on both eyes. For the past eight years, she's also been battling tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Medical debt ruined her credit. 'It's like you're being punished for being sick'

New policies to keep medical bills from sinking credit ratings sound good but will likely fall short for many hit hardest by debt — especially Black Americans in the South, such as Penelope Wingard.

October 06, 2022
|
By:
  • Aneri Pattani
Aerial view of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Some hospitals in Texas and around the U.S. are seeing high profits, even as their bills force patients into debt. Of the nation's 20 most populous counties, none has a higher concentration of medical debt than Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Some hospitals rake in high profits while their patients are loaded with medical debt

Across the U.S., many hospitals have become wealthy, even as their bills force patients to make gut-wrenching sacrifices. This pattern is especially stark for health care systems in Dallas-Fort Worth.

September 28, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
After years of carrying medical debt from the premature birth of her daughter, Terri Logan recently discovered a nonprofit called RIP Medical Debt had paid off her bills.

Tagged as: 

  • Health Care

This group's wiped out $6.7 billion in medical debt, and it's just getting started

Nonprofit RIP Medical Debt buys up unpaid hospital bills plaguing low-income patients and frees them from having to pay.

August 17, 2022
|
By:
  • Yuki Noguchi
Lucille Brooks, a retiree who lives in Pittsford, New York, was sued in 2020 for nearly $8,000 by a nursing home that had taken care of her brother. The nursing home dropped the case after she showed she had no control over his money or authority to make decisions for him.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Nursing homes are suing friends and family to collect on patients' bills

Debt lawsuits — a byproduct of America's medical debt crisis — can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.

July 28, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
Jeni Rae Peters and daughter embrace at their home in Rapid City, S.D. In 2020, Peters was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After treatment, Peters estimates that her medical bills exceeded $30,000.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

She was already battling cancer. Then she had to fight the bill collectors

For one South Dakota mom, cancer treatment saved her life, but left her $30,000 in debt. The cost of care in the U.S. can make patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes.

July 09, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey

Tagged as: 

  • Your Health

How to get rid of medical debt — or avoid it in the first place

Bills can add up fast when you're dealing with a health crisis. And if you can't pay them, they can wreak havoc on your finances. Here's how to stay out of medical debt — or make it go away.

July 01, 2022
|
By:
  • Yuki Noguchi

Tagged as: 

  • Health

North Carolina considers new laws to 'de-weaponize' medical debt and protect patients

Medical debt can ruin lives, and in many states patients have few financial protections. North Carolina is considering a new law that could lead the way in shielding patients from high medical bills.

June 21, 2022
|
By:
  • Aneri Pattani

Tagged as: 

  • Health

North Carolina considers new laws to 'de-weaponize' medical debt and protect patients

Medical debt can ruin lives, and in many states patients have few financial protections. North Carolina is considering a new law that could lead the way in shielding patients from high medical bills.

June 21, 2022
|
By:
  • Aneri Pattani

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt

The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.

June 16, 2022
|
By:
  • Noam Levey
  • Load More

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