One seriously ill Arizona man was denied care because of past-due bills. His only choice was to go to the ER, where he was stuck with thousands of dollars of additional bills he couldn’t pay.
Category: Health Care Costs
Hospital Lawsuits and Garnished Wages on Top of Diabetes
A small infection related to diabetes on one New York man’s foot set off a cascade of medical emergencies and financial struggles that his family is still struggling to cope with.
Nineteen Surgeries Over Five Years. Then They Lost Their House.
Even though one Colorado woman had health insurance, she was swamped with $250,000 in medical debt from surgeries for a twisted intestine. “It was five years of hell,” said her husband.
Damaged Credit Delays the Dream of Buying a Home
Joe Pitzo was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018. After surgery, the bills topped $350,000. “This just took a major toll on my credit,” Joe said. “It went down to next to nothing.”
A Sexual Assault and Years of Calls From Debt Collectors
Edy Adams had just graduated from college when she was sexually assaulted in 2013. After getting examined at an ER, she received calls from debt collectors for years over a $131 bill. “I was being haunted by this zombie bill.”
A Surgery Shatters Retirement Plans and Leads to Bankruptcy
Sherrie Foy had surgeries and medical complications that produced about $850,000 in bills. The Foys ended up declaring bankruptcy. “They took everything we had.”
Double Shifts, Credit Card Debt, and Family Loans When Twins Were Born Early
One Chicago woman gave birth to twins 10 weeks prematurely, and the children needed extensive care. The medical bills topped out at around $80,000. Desperate, the parents loaded up credit cards, borrowed from relatives, and delayed repaying student loans.
Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives
People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.
100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.
Five Quick Takeaways From a Yearlong Investigation of Medical Debt in America
Today, debt from medical and dental bills touches nearly every corner of American society.
