The Biden administration has taken significant steps to address the medical debt problem that burdens 100 million people in America, but gains would be jeopardized by a Trump win, advocates say.
New York City joined other localities this week in pledging to buy up and forgive residents' unpaid medical bills. The trend started in Cook County, Ill., and is spreading around the country.
U.S. hospitals face growing scrutiny over aggressive debt collection tactics. At one community hospital, few patients get financial aid when they can't afford to pay. Many more are taken to court.
Credit rating agencies have removed small unpaid medical bills from consumer credit, and some people are seeing their credit scores improve, a new study finds.
The suits pursued patients and their families, sometimes putting liens on homes. "I know my house will never be mine. It is going to be the hospital's," said Donna Lindabury, 70, who lost her case.
More than half of the counties in the nation's so-called Diabetes Belt also have high rates of medical debt among their residents, an NPR analysis found.
Americans paid an estimated $1 billion in interest on medical debt in just three years, a federal agency finds. This includes use of credit cards often pitched in doctors' and dentists' offices.
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.
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.
An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics.
