“I’ve been battling this disease for over 20 years,” Berg, 68, said of his medical debt. “It’s been like an albatross around my neck, an anvil that I’m dragging every day.”
Americans are owed at least $220 billion in medical debt. KFFAccording to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization, the top three states for medical debt are South Dakota, with 18% of the population affected, followed by Mississippi at 15% and Belk’s home state of North Carolina at 13%. sayThe burden of health care costs has fueled economic anxiety among voters and has become an issue in the 2024 presidential election.
Medical debt is a “uniquely American problem,” Berneta said. Haynes“Even if you have insurance, if you have a chronic health condition that requires you to interact with the health care system more frequently, you’re at greater risk of incurring medical debt with every appointment,” said Matthew L. Schneider, a senior attorney at the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center and an expert on the issue.
Asked about Mr. Belk’s situation, an Atrium Health spokesman said the company used patient litigation “as a last resort.” Mr. Belk voluntarily signed both the trust deed and other judgment documents “likely on the advice of his legal counsel,” the spokesman said.
An Atrium spokesperson also said in a statement, “As the leading not-for-profit health system in the Southeast, Atrium Health strives to ensure that everyone in each community we serve has access to quality health care. There is zero profit for us, only results in the form of improved health, increased hope and accelerated healing for all.”
Invoice errors and lack of support
Approximately 18% of our country’s gross domestic product is spent on health care, which is much higher than in other developed countries. one third Of that, $100 is spent on hospital care, according to national health expenditure data.
With costs rising, it’s no surprise that healthcare costs are a leading cause of death. bankruptcy According to a 2019 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, medical debt is skyrocketing in the United States. Residents of southeastern states are hit especially hard by medical debt because state governments often block Medicaid expansion.
Nonprofit hospitals are supposed to offer financial assistance programs to patients who can’t afford medical bills. Affordable Care ActBut patients don’t always receive information about these programs, experts say.
Further compounding the difficulties posed by medical debt is the fact that hospital and medical bills can be hard to decipher and are often incorrect, says Cynthia Fisher. Patient Advocacy GroupsFischer, whose organization regularly analyzes patient records, told NBC News that she “still hasn’t received an accurate bill.”
new study A study by the Commonwealth Fund, an independent research organization focused on health care, confirmed that inaccurate billing is a major problem. The survey found that about 45% of U.S. adults said they were surprised when they received a bill for medical expenses that were not covered by their insurance. While many of those surveyed did not dispute the bill, 38% of those who asked had their bill reduced or waived, the report said.
Even when bills are accurate, Fisher’s group says, prices can vary widely for the same service at the same hospital. For example, last year PatientRightsAdvocate.org surveyed hospitals in 10 states to see how much they charge for five common services, including appendectomies, C-sections and cataract surgery. the study An appendectomy at the same hospital can cost as much as 32 times the facility’s minimum rate. Cataract surgery can cost nine times the minimum rate, and a C-section can cost eight times the minimum rate. The average price difference between procedures at the same hospital was nearly 11 times, according to the study.
8% interest rate
In 2023, Darcy Gill, 52, underwent emergency hernia surgery. Gill had health insurance through a marketplace plan, but later that year received a bill from the hospital for $4,000 for an amount not covered by her plan. Gill has multiple sclerosis and lives in Ayden, a rural town just south of Greenville, North Carolina. She said she pays about $123 a month for her bill.
“I didn’t want to get a hernia,” she said. “I used to be an elementary school teacher, but I’ve been short on money for the past few years.”
Gill said she is especially grateful that North Carolina recently expanded Medicaid coverage to make it available to residents. Hometown North Carolina She moved to the state to help her neighbors get Medicaid. “There are a lot of people in this state who are in medical debt because their insurance doesn’t cover it,” she said.
Gill’s views will be confirmed by 2021 the study According to a study by the Urban Institute, three of the top 10 counties in the United States with the most residents with medical debt are in North Carolina, where more than 40 percent of residents have medical debt, compared with the national average of 13.9 percent.
North Carolina residents are shouldering huge amounts of medical debt because hospital mergers in the state have limited competition between facilities, he said. Harold Millerpresident and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. As hospitals consolidate, they gain more market power, which he said drives up health care costs, especially in rural areas. “When hospitals merge, prices go up,” he said.
North Carolina law allows hospitals to sue patients for medical debt, with legal judgments lasting up to 20 years, and those judgments carry 8% interest and can automatically act as a lien against the patient’s home.
