![]() The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample and 3 percentage points for those with current debt. adults, including 1,292 adults with current health care debt and 382 adults who had health care debt in the past five years. 25 through March 20, 2022, online and via telephone, in English and Spanish, among a nationally representative sample of 2,375 U.S. KFF Health News journalists worked with KFF public opinion researchers to design and analyze the " KFF Health Care Debt Survey." The survey was conducted Feb. And the CED Project, a Denver nonprofit, worked with KFF Health News on a survey of its clients to explore links between medical debt and housing instability. The JPMorgan Chase Institute analyzed records from a sampling of Chase credit card holders to look at how customers' balances may be affected by major medical expenses. and what factors are associated with high debt levels. ![]() The series draws on original polling by KFF, court records, federal data on hospital finances, contracts obtained through public records requests, data on international health systems, and a yearlong investigation into the financial assistance and collection policies of more than 500 hospitals across the country.Īdditional research was conducted by the Urban Institute, which analyzed credit bureau and other demographic data on poverty, race, and health status for KFF Health News to explore where medical debt is concentrated in the U.S. "Diagnosis: Debt" is a reporting partnership between KFF Health News and NPR exploring the scale, impact, and causes of medical debt in America. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Community Catalyst in mid September to push the Biden administration to take additional action on medical debt in an event hosted by nonprofit Community Catalyst. Health advocates and community members gathered in Washington D.C. Looser credit requirements could also make it easier for consumers who can't handle more debt to get loans they might not be able to pay off, others have warned. Hospital leaders and representatives of the debt collection industry have warned that such restrictions on the ability of medical providers to get their bills paid may have unintended consequences, such as prompting more hospitals and physicians to require upfront payment before delivering care. Many groups have urged the federal government to bar tax-exempt hospitals from selling patient debt or denying medical care to people with past-due bills, practices that remain widespread across the U.S., KFF Health News found. ![]() In June, Colorado enacted a trailblazing bill that prohibits medical debt from being included on residents' credit reports or factored into their credit scores. State leaders also have taken steps to expand consumer protections. Shots - Health News Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief ![]() The National Consumer Law Center, Community Catalyst, and some 50 other groups in March sent letters to the CFPB and IRS urging stronger federal action to rein in hospital debt collection. And many consumer and patient advocates called for more action. The excluded debts included paid-off bills and those less than $500.īut the agencies' voluntary actions left out millions of patients with bigger medical bills on their credit reports. The three largest credit agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - said they would stop including some medical debt on credit reports as of last year. There is growing evidence, for example, that credit scores depressed by medical debt can threaten people's access to housing and fuel homelessness in many communities.Īt the same time, CFPB researchers have found that medical debt - unlike other kinds of debt - does not accurately predict a consumer's creditworthiness, calling into question how useful it is on a credit report. Although a single black mark on a credit score may not have a huge effect for some people, the impact can be devastating for those with large unpaid medical bills.
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