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Why a financial regulator is going after health care debt
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created after the Great Recession of 2007-09, has increasingly started policing the health care system.
As some medical debt disappears from Americans’ credit reports, scores are rising
Credit rating agencies have removed small unpaid medical bills from consumer credit, and some people are seeing their credit scores improve, a new study finds.
Medical debt could soon be barred from ruining your credit score
The Biden administration unveiled regulations that potentially would help tens of millions of people who have medical debt on their credit reports.
Medical debt nearly pushed this family into homelessness. Millions more are at risk
Saddled with debt from health care, many Americans are forced into painful tradeoffs. And some are losing their homes.
Hospitals sued thousands of patients in North Carolina for unpaid bills, report finds
The suits pursued patients and their families, sometimes putting liens on homes. “I know my house will never be mine. It is going to be the hospital’s,” said Donna Lindabury, 70, who lost her case.
‘We’re not doing that’: A Black couple won’t crowdfund to pay medical debt
Kristie Fields, a cancer patient in Virginia was urged to go public to seek help for her medical bills. But she worried about feeding hurtful stereotypes.
Biden administration warns consumers to avoid medical credit cards
Americans paid an estimated $1 billion in interest on medical debt in just three years, a federal agency finds. This includes use of credit cards often pitched in doctors’ and dentists’ offices.
Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief
More than 50 consumer and patient groups want the Biden Administration to aggressively protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. The effort follows a KHN/NPR investigation.
Investigation: Many U.S. hospitals sue patients for debts or threaten their credit
An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics.
Lessons from Germany to help solve the U.S. medical debt crisis
What would a world without medical debt look like? In Germany’s former coal-mining region medical debt is almost unknown, despite economic challenges and health problems. Here’s why.
