‘Now we have nothing.’ Soaring medical debt causes gut-wrenching sacrifices for patients
LA TimesElizabeth Woodruff drained her retirement account and took on three jobs after she and her husband were sued for nearly $10,000 by the New York hospital where his infected leg was amputated. More than half of U.S. adults report that in the last five years they’ve gone into debt because of medical or dental bills, the KFF poll found. America’s debt crisis is driven by a simple reality: Half of U.S. adults don’t have the cash to cover an unexpected $500 healthcare bill, the KFF poll showed. “Now we have nothing.” Debt from medical and dental bills touches nearly every corner of U.S. society, burdening even those with insurance coverage through work or government programs such as Medicare. 2, 3 and 4 reasons, that people go into medical debt is they don’t have the money,” said Alan Cohen, a co-founder of insurer Centivo who has worked in health benefits for decades.
History of this topic
A California bill banning medical debt from credit reports gets a boost from California Atty. Gen. Bonta
LA Times
A growing wave of local governments are erasing billions in medical debts
NPRWhite House aiming to scrub medical debt from people’s credit scores, which could up ratings for millions
Associated Press
Opinion: Crushing medical debt is turning Americans against their doctors
LA Times
What Germany’s coal miners can teach America about medical debt
Salon
Why Black Americans are more likely to be saddled with medical debt
NPR
Some hospitals rake in high profits while their patients are loaded with medical debt
NPR
Some medical debt is being removed from US credit reports
Associated Press
A startling number of people in America are saddled with health care debt
Raw Story
TWO-THIRDS of Americans are putting off medical care they need
Daily Mail
Column: A new law aims to protect you from surprise (read: bonkers) medical bills
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