Americans owed approximately $140 billion in unpaid medical expenses last year, making it the largest source of debt collection. A new study shows.
In 2009, the average medical debt was US$119 less than non-medical debt; and by 2020, medical debt was US$39 higher than non-medical debt. Stanford University Professor of Economics and research author Neale Mahoney said in a telephone interview that although total debt has declined overall in the past decade, medical debt has become a larger part of it.
In June last year, it was estimated that 17.8% of people had medical debt, with an average amount of US$429. When extrapolating to the entire U.S. population, the researchers found that medical debt may be as high as 140 billion U.S. dollars, far exceeding the previously estimated 2016 medical debt of approximately 81 billion U.S. dollars. According to the New York Times.
“Our goal is to calculate every penny in the credit report [related to medical debt], So our top-line figure of $140 billion is much higher than previous estimates,” Mahoney said.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, includes medical debt data collected from a nationally representative sample of consumer credit reports from January 2009 to June 2020. Therefore, the study reflects the Covid-19 pandemic.
Research shows that average medical debt is highest in the South ($616) and lowest in the Northeast ($167).
The reasons for this situation may be attributed to different policies.
In 2014, states with expanded Medicaid programs had an average medical debt drop of 44%, while those states that did not (many of which were in the South) had an average medical debt drop of only 10%.
“What you see is the difference between these [non-expansion] Southern states and other states,” Mahoney said. “In the South, poor communities with the highest levels of medical debt [are seeing those levels increase further], And they are falling elsewhere. So, this is really a story of a different path. “
He added that the results of the study are important to payers and providers. As patients increasingly bear medical expenses, the fact that many people cannot afford it means that they must work hard to slow the rise in medical expenses and reduce the burden on patients.
In fact, medical debt can be classified as a social determinant of health. Editorial accompanying research Argued.
Medical debt and related financial difficulties may be related to adverse health effects. The authors write that, for example, medical debt may prevent patients from seeking or receiving needed care. Not only that, personal debt (a large part of which is medical debt) is related to poor mental health.
They concluded: “Medical debt and its burden on families and communities are once again a reminder of how the social determinants of health… strengthen and perpetuate inequalities in health and economic prospects and prosperity.
Photo: Artist, GettyImages
