Life And Debt: Getting The Hospital Bill

1A

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 May 2023

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported last year that there's around $88 billion of medical debt in collections, and about 43 million Americans have medical debt on their credit report.

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – three major credit reporting companies in the U.S. – have eased how much medical debt impacts someone's credit score. The companies no longer include medical debt that is paid off or less than a year old on a report.

But a medical bill can be plenty stressful before it goes to a debt collector. People often turn to crowdfunding sources like GoFundMe to help pay those costs when they get them.

We continue our series with Bloomberg News with a discussion about medical debt in the U.S. and how we deal with it.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find out how to connect with us by visiting our website.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is 1A, I'm Jen White. Going to the doctor can be a bit nerve-wracking, but not just
0:14.1	because of the poking and prodding. For many, it's also the added stress of waiting for
0:19.2	the bill. Here's what one of you had to share.
0:21.6	I had some intestinal issues that led me to getting gastroenterologists, ultimately through
0:28.7	anesthesia, gastroenterologists, procedures, signed it up with about $5,000 in medical
0:34.2	debt, which was just unable to pay. And it still fits over me today because I just don't
0:40.1	have that much money lying around. I have to get a colonoscopy every three years because
0:44.6	I'm prone to getting intestinal cancer and I just go and get those and pay what I can.
0:50.6	We're continuing our series in partnership with Bloomberg News. It's called Life and
0:55.3	Debt. During the series, we get into the federal debt limit, student loans, and credit
0:59.9	card debt. For this installment, we're focusing on medical debt. Last year, the Consumer Financial
1:06.0	Protection Bureau, that's a government agency, reported there's around $88 billion in
1:11.7	medical debt just in collections. And about 43 million Americans have medical debt on their
1:16.6	credit report. After the break, we learn more about the issues surrounding medical debt
1:20.9	in the U.S. and hear your stories about how you've dealt with it or are dealing with
1:25.2	it. I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast where we get to the heart of
1:29.6	the story. You've got a lot to get into. Stay with us.
1:35.3	Let's bring in some experts to walk us through some of the major issues around medical debt.
1:42.7	Allison Cesso is the president and CEO of RIP Medical Debt. It's a nonprofit that buys
1:48.4	medical debt in bulk, erasing the debt for groups of consumers. Allison, welcome to the
1:52.5	program. Thank you so much for having me. Also with us, Jennifer Bosco. She's a senior
1:57.1	attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. They work on issues that impact low-income
	...

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