🏥 Americans owe at least $220 billion in medical debt, and most of the people carrying it have health insurance.
The $220 billion figure comes from KFF's analysis of government survey data, and the CFPB cites the same number. On credit reports alone it's about $88 billion; the rest hides in payment plans, credit cards, and family loans.
A widely-shared survey by debt-relief firm JG Wentworth found 92% of insured respondents had delayed or avoided care over cost, and 85% said they already carried medical debt.
On the 85%: it comes from a single online opt-in panel run by a company that profits from financial distress. Nationally representative surveys put the share far lower. About 11% of adults report past-year medical debt, and roughly 29% of working-age families owe medical debt at a given time.
The core point holds. Insurance genuinely under-protects people against medical cost, and the debt burden is real. The 85% figure just isn't a neutral national statistic.
Read more:
... Show more...🏥 Americans owe at least $220 billion in medical debt, and most of the people carrying it have health insurance.
The $220 billion figure comes from KFF's analysis of government survey data, and the CFPB cites the same number. On credit reports alone it's about $88 billion; the rest hides in payment plans, credit cards, and family loans.
A widely-shared survey by debt-relief firm JG Wentworth found 92% of insured respondents had delayed or avoided care over cost, and 85% said they already carried medical debt.
On the 85%: it comes from a single online opt-in panel run by a company that profits from financial distress. Nationally representative surveys put the share far lower. About 11% of adults report past-year medical debt, and roughly 29% of working-age families owe medical debt at a given time.
The core point holds. Insurance genuinely under-protects people against medical cost, and the debt burden is real. The 85% figure just isn't a neutral national statistic.
Read more:
kff.org/health-costs/the-burde…
healthsystemtracker.org/brief/…
usatoday.com/story/money/perso…
#healthcare #medicaldebt #healthinsurance
Most insured Americans worry about medical bills, with 94.7% fearing financial ruin from unexpected costs.
, USA TODAY (USA TODAY)
