90% of U.S. Adults Agree
Elected officials should pass policies that protect people with serious illnesses like cancer from medical debt and harassment from collection agencies.
In an era that is marked by hyper-partisanship, medical debt is a rare issue transcending politics. Medical debt is an ‘everyone issue’ – each of us knows a family member, neighbor or friend who struggles to afford healthcare. With an estimated $220 billion of medical debt weighing on people nationwide, the issue will remain critical regardless of any electoral outcome. Stories splashed across media outlets spotlight people forced to spend through savings, make trade-offs among basic needs, and endure endless calls from debt collectors. The cascade of harms that come from medical debt are many, leaving people stressed and isolated.
Health status and medical debt do not discriminate based on party affiliation, nor should our efforts to create a healthcare system where people can receive needed care without fear of losing everything. Our own survey work in partnership with ACS CAN, LLS and PerryUndem highlights how and why medical debt must remain an issue outside of politics; over 90% of U.S. adults agree that elected officials should pass policies that protect people with serious illnesses like cancer from medical debt and harassment from collection agencies. Notably, 64% said they would blame officials if they failed to reduce healthcare costs. Clearly, these sentiments are universally embraced.
People understand that medical debt is not a choice.
Even with insurance coverage, patients are forced to contend with extremely high out-of-pocket costs— nearly 70% of the people we surveyed said they’ve received a bill they can’t afford, even with insurance. People go to great lengths to pay their bills, often putting them on credit cards, taking out loans, or foregoing other critical needs like food or medication, but it is not enough. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to escape the cycle of medical debt once you’ve received that first unaffordable bill. We need systems-level change, which must be led (at least in part) by state and federal governments.
64% of U.S. Adults
Would blame officials if they failed to reduce healthcare costs.
While work at the federal level proceeds slowly, states are actively working in bipartisan ways to advance policies that protect their residents against the harms of medical debt; KFF Health News recently highlighted efforts from states as diverse as Oklahoma, Illinois and New Mexico. There is a tremendous amount of important work being done on medical debt—this work must continue, and all stakeholders regardless of party affiliation are needed. Our healthcare financing system is broken, and we are tasked with figuring out how to fix it. Medical bills don’t come in red and blue—unaffordable medical bills affect all of us. There is a clear consensus that the way America does healthcare is not working for anyone—and there is an incredible amount of work left to be done that we must do together.