--- title: Americans are really struggling with medical debt - The Hustle description: Over 100m Americans carry some form of medical debt, hurting their ability to save, reach life goals, or get needed care. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1229909288-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-23T004052.269Z.webp --- # Americans are really struggling with medical debt ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: June 23, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Remember that show about a schoolteacher who became a meth kingpin to cover his medical bills? New Zealand’s Walter White wouldn’t have done that. ![Americans are really struggling with medical debt](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1229909288-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-23T004052.269Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1229909288-HS-News-Brief_2022-06-23T004052.269Z.webp) But in the US, **41%** of American adults carry medical debt, according to [research](https://www.kff.org/report-section/kff-health-care-debt-survey-main-findings/) from Kaiser Health News and [*NPR*](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/06/16/1104679219/medical-bills-debt-investigation). Some may not have appeared in past surveys or estimates due to how people deal with it — for example, 17% of people shuffle their debt to credit cards, while 21% pay over time directly to a provider. #### **How much debt are we talking?** The survey found that 42% owe $1k-$5k, while 24% owe more. What that feels like depends on each debtor’s situation, and those who are low-income, uninsured, Black, Hispanic, women, or parents are often hit hardest. Eighteen percent of debtors fear they’ll never pay it off. And debt has branching effects: - **48%** of debtors say they’ve burned through their savings to pay down debt, and many put bills on credit cards, which rack up interest - **1 in 7** debtors say they’ve been denied needed care due to unpaid bills - People who owe medical debt are **2x** as likely to skip care - Many debtors have delayed college and homeownership, or have had issues buying a car or renting an apartment **What can be done to treat it?** Medical bills can often be shockingly high, even for the insured. - In 2020, a woman went to an in-network center for surgery, but was surprised by a [$2k](https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/surprise-medical-bills-federal-no-surprises-act-california-law/) bill because the anesthesiologist wasn’t in-network. The [No Surprises Act](https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/consumers/new-protections-for-you) seeks to prevent this, banning out-of-network bills for emergency care, supplemental care (e.g., anesthesiology, radiology), and out-of-network providers working at in-network facilities. New transparency laws also require hospitals to post rates for 300 common services. However, as of February, only ~14% were compliant, [per](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/22/100-million-adults-have-health-care-debt-and-some-owe-10000-or-more.html#:~:text=Investing%20Club-,100%20million%20adults%20have%20health%2Dcare%20debt%20%E2%80%94%20and%2012%25,them%20owe%20%2410%2C000%20or%20more&text=An%20estimated%2041%25%20of%20adults,up%20on%20consumer%20credit%20reports.) *CNBC*. And the core issue remains: People can’t afford care, as both medical costs and deductibles have steadily increased. **BTW:** *Consumer Reports* has [some tips](https://www.consumerreports.org/medical-billing/how-to-lower-your-medical-bills-a3379293456/) for avoiding high medical bills and dealing with them should they occur. 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