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Life Kit

Rx For Medical Debt

Life Kit

NPR

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Kids & Family, Education, Business

4.33.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2019

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

One in 5 Americans struggles with medical bills. Here are things you do to get medical bills reduced — or even forgiven.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You go to the doctor because you want to be healthier and feel better, right?

0:04.3

But for millions of people in this country, there is a really bad side effect.

0:08.9

And we're not talking like the list of side effects you hear on those pharmaceutical commercials.

0:13.6

May result in massive bleeding, wanting headaches, excessive dry mouth, night sweats,

0:16.4

wrestling, slicks and drum warts.

0:17.8

This side effect arrives in your mailbox and it can be just as painful.

0:23.4

For two years, I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking,

0:26.6

oh my god, I'm going to have to pay $64,000.

0:30.4

I'm, you know, I'm screwed.

0:32.6

Medical bills can be outrageously high.

0:35.5

And when those bills turn into debts that you can't afford to pay back, talk about headaches.

0:39.8

If you don't pay this, we're going to come after you.

0:43.0

They just kept coming in and another said 200.

0:45.8

I said they were going to take me to court.

0:47.3

I started using credit cards to pay for prescriptions, physical therapy.

0:51.7

And then another was like 900.

0:53.3

And I was like, white, white, what is this come from?

0:57.5

I was absolutely terrified.

0:59.0

Most of my cards are now almost maxed out.

1:01.5

This is a huge problem, one in five working Americans who have insurance,

1:07.1

still say that they have trouble paying their medical bills.

1:09.9

But the good news is, if you're struggling with medical debt or helping a parents or a family member,

...

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