Resolving the Medical Debt Crisis by Addressing Our Country’s Broken Health Care System

By Consumers for Quality Care, on October 16, 2024

Although much progress has been made by nonprofit organizations to erase medical debt for millions, the issue won’t be resolved until real changes are made to our country’s health care system, as reported by Axios.

The root causes of skyrocketing medical debt include high health care prices and insurance plans that leave consumers vulnerable to high deductibles and other out-of-pockets expenses. Thankfully, policymakers are beginning to address these causes.

Earlier this year, North Carolina officials were driven to tackle the medical debt crisis affecting millions of residents. Working with the federal government, state government officials struck a deal with the hospital industry. In exchange for releasing federal money tied to Medicaid expansion, hospitals agreed to forgive billions of dollars in consumer debt. They also agreed to implement new policies designed to prevent consumers from incurring debt going forward. 

Elected leaders can look at three ways to address the medical debt crisis:

1. Provide immediate one-time debt relief.
2. Put measures in place that shield patients from the effects of medical debt, such as removing medical debt from credit scores that make it harder for consumers to buy a car, get a job, or rent an apartment.
3. Enact policies that prevent medical debt from occurring in the future, such as expanding Medicaid, or making health care more affordable by reducing prices or making health insurance plans more comprehensive.

CQC applauds efforts to forgive medical debt for millions of Americans, but we also urge the nation’s elected leaders to protect consumers and address the root causes of the medical-debt crisis.