13-04-2023, 09:50 AM
By JESSE BEDAYN
43 minutes ago
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an estimated 100 million Americans ...... have amassed nearly US$200 billion in collective medical debt — almost the size of Greece’s economy
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lawmakers in at least a dozen states and the U.S. Congress have pushed legislation to curtail the financial burden that’s pushed many into untenable situations: forgoing needed care for fear of added debt, taking a second mortgage to pay for cancer treatment or slashing grocery budgets to keep up with payments.
Some of the bills would create medical debt relief programs or protect personal property from collections, while others would lower interest rates, keep medical debt from tanking credit scores or require greater transparency in the costs of care.
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But there are opponents. Colorado Republican state Sen. Janice Rich said she worried that the proposal could “constrain hospitals’ debt collecting ability and hurt their cash flow.”
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medical debt has become a leading cause of personal bankruptcy, with an estimated US$88 billion of that debt in collections nationwide
......
Roughly 530,000 people reported falling into bankruptcy annually due partly to medical bills
https://apnews.com/article/medical-debt-...8309c7aaUS
43 minutes ago
......
an estimated 100 million Americans ...... have amassed nearly US$200 billion in collective medical debt — almost the size of Greece’s economy
......
lawmakers in at least a dozen states and the U.S. Congress have pushed legislation to curtail the financial burden that’s pushed many into untenable situations: forgoing needed care for fear of added debt, taking a second mortgage to pay for cancer treatment or slashing grocery budgets to keep up with payments.
Some of the bills would create medical debt relief programs or protect personal property from collections, while others would lower interest rates, keep medical debt from tanking credit scores or require greater transparency in the costs of care.
......
But there are opponents. Colorado Republican state Sen. Janice Rich said she worried that the proposal could “constrain hospitals’ debt collecting ability and hurt their cash flow.”
......
medical debt has become a leading cause of personal bankruptcy, with an estimated US$88 billion of that debt in collections nationwide
......
Roughly 530,000 people reported falling into bankruptcy annually due partly to medical bills
https://apnews.com/article/medical-debt-...8309c7aaUS