Medical Debt Should Not Exist.

Medical Debt in America

Medical debt in America is a terrible burden for millions of people with no insurance and even for people with insurance due to the outrageous cost of medical care and prescription drugs, unaffordable insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses they can’t pay.

  • The United States has by far the highest cost for medical care and prescription drugs in the world.

  • Patients often get hit with catastrophic surprise medical bills from doctors not in their insurance network. And the uninsured are billed for arbitrary amounts far in excess of what the hospital would accept from insurance providers.

  • Millions of people are struggling to pay medical bills and face relentless harassment by debt collectors.

  • An entire industry has been created to buy medical debt for pennies on the dollar. They then go after patients and demand payment of the the full amount of the debt, plus interest and attorney fees.

  • Creditors (even many nonprofit hospitals) often file a lawsuit to collect medical debt that people can’t pay. Most people, however, are not represented by an attorney. So the creditor gets a default judgment and then can garnish wages or attach other property. Unfortunately, filing bankruptcy is often inevitable, a tragic result that should never happen.

  • Many people forgo medical care, can’t afford prescriptions and are unable to pay other living expenses, often incurring other debt as a result.

An in depth investigation by the Kaiser Family Foundation exposes the failure of our health care system that systematically pushes people into debt. It documents the suffering and sacrifices medical debt causes patients and their families. The scope and severity of the crisis is staggering. This needs to change.

Please review their investigation: DIAGNOSIS: DEBT

Medical Industrial Complex

Why is medical care so costly? We have a corporate medical industrial complex that is driven by profit. Health care has become big business.

Health care lobbyists spend incredible amounts to influence legislation that favors special interests including large corporations, private equity investors, hospitals, insurance companies and drug companies. Hospital and insurance company consolidations are increasing costs. As a result, the United States spends dramatically more on health care than other developed continents. The financial burden on many people is unconscionable.

A prime example of just how large some corporations have become is UnitedHealth Group which, according to Forbes, in 2023 reported revenue of $371 billion and profits of $22 billion. And this is after paying millions of dollars in compensation to its top executives. The cost of medical care in America is not sustainable.

In most countries medical debt doesn’t exist. It’s a foreign concept. And medical debt shouldn’t exist in America.

Campaign to End Medical Debt

We need to stop:

  • Hospitals from charging an uninsured more than the private health insurance reimbursement they would accept for the same service.

  • Hospitals and their outpatient clinics, as well as ambulance companies, from any balance billing for services of “out-of-network” providers.

  • Hospitals from keeping their prices secret so it’s virtually impossible to shop for the lowest price and they are able to charge some patients more than others for the same service.

  • Health insurance companies from denying coverage for treatment recommended by a physician without an independent medical review.

  • Health insurance companies selling policies with deductibles and out of pocket expenses greater than people can afford.

  • Pharmaceutical companies from manipulating patent protection to extend the time they have the exclusive right to manufacture drugs, thereby eliminating any competition so they can continue to charge exorbitant prices.

  • Pharmaceutical companies from charging arbitrary, unjustified drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and allowing people to buy lower cost prescription drugs from Canada and other countries with safety standards comparable to those in the U.S.

  • Limiting Medicare coverage to medical services and expand coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing services as well as home care.

  • Denying medical care because of outstanding medical debt.

  • Attachment or garnishment of wages, self employment income, social security or other government benefits, a car, a principal residence or property used in a trade or business to pay medical debt.

  • Allowing creditors to add interest and attorney fees to the amount of medical debt or report medical debt to credit agencies.

  • Electing politicians who accept money from the medical industrial complex and then vote for policies not in the public interest.

    You should not be denied medical care because you can’t afford it and should not bear the burden of medical debt you can’t pay.