Diagnosis: Debt

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Biden Administration Urged to Take More Aggressive Steps to Relieve Medical Debt

by

Dozens of advocates for patients and consumers, citing widespread harm caused by medical debt, are pushing the Biden administration to take more aggressive steps to protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. In letters to the IRS and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the groups call for new federal rules that among other things … Read more

A Medical Cost-Sharing Plan Left Pastor With Most Of The Cost

by

We spent several weeks thinking … perhaps our only route is to declare bankruptcy. Jeff King Jeff King, 63, Lawrence, Kansas Approximate Medical Debt: $160,000 Medical Issue: Heart ablation What Happened: Kareen King calls it “the ultimate paradox”: The hospital that saved her husband’s heart also broke it. Jeff King needed his heart rhythm restored … Read more

From Her View in Knoxville, the Health System Is ‘Not Designed for Poor People’

by

“I don’t buy a lot of food. Just plain and simple.”  Monica Reed Monica Reed, 60, Knoxville, Tenn.  Approximate Medical Debt: $10,000  Medical Issue: Cancer  What Happened: Monica Reed considers herself luckier than most. Born in Knoxville and raised by a single mother, Reed became the first in her family to own a home, a … Read more

Hundreds of US Hospitals Sue Patients or Threaten Their Credit, a KHN Investigation Finds

by

Despite growing evidence of the harm caused by medical debt, hundreds of U.S. hospitals maintain policies to aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills, using tactics such as lawsuits, selling patient accounts to debt buyers, and reporting patients to credit rating agencies, a KHN investigation shows. The collection practices are commonplace among all types of hospitals … Read more