100 million Americans have medical debt, study finds

More than 100 million people in America ― including 41% of adults ― are carrying medical debt, according to an investigation by KHN and NPR (source: “100 million people in America are saddled with health care debt,” Kaiser Health News via Ohio Capital Journal, June 21).

The investigation reveals a problem that, despite new attention from the White House and Congress, is far more pervasive than previously reported. That is because much of the debt that patients accrue is hidden as credit card balances, loans from family, or payment plans to hospitals and other medical providers.

To calculate the true extent and burden of this debt, the KHN-NPR investigation draws on a nationwide poll conducted by KFF for this project.

In the past five years, more than half of U.S. adults report they’ve gone into debt because of medical or dental bills, the KFF poll found. A quarter of adults with health care debt owe more than $5,000. And about 1 in 5 with any amount of debt said they don’t expect to ever pay it off.

Nationwide, according to the poll, Black adults are 50% more likely and Hispanic adults are 35% more likely than whites to owe money for care.