Local View: Medical debt is not a choice; forgiving it is a calling
Medical debt is a crisis for many families with financial hardship in our country. These families didn't choose to take on medical debt and have th...
Medical debt is a crisis for many families with financial hardship in our country. These families didn't choose to take on medical debt and have their credit scores plummet. They didn't wake up one day and decide to have a heart attack, receive a cancer diagnosis, or get a required treatment for a medical situation. The Kaiser Foundation/Health and others estimate that Americans owe nearly $195 billion in medical debt. They also report that 66% of all bankruptcies are tied to medical debt. Half of Americans can't afford a $400 emergency medical bill, and 60% of insured families will deplete most or all of their savings to pay medical bills.