Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt

[Nevilledog]

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NPR
@NPR
🧵 More than 100 million Americans, including 41% of adults, are plagued by a health care system that drives people into debt to pay for their care.

An investigation by @KHNews and NPR shows the problem is far more pervasive than previously reported.

npr.org
Sick and struggling to pay, 100 million people in the U.S. live with medical debt
The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.
8:44 AM · Jun 16, 2022

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/06/16/1104679219/medical-bills-debt-investigation

Elizabeth Woodruff drained her retirement account and took on three jobs after she and her husband were sued for nearly $10,000 by the New York hospital where his infected leg was amputated.

Ariane Buck, a young father in Arizona who sells health insurance, couldn't make an appointment with his doctor for a dangerous intestinal infection because the office said he had outstanding bills.

Allyson Ward and her husband loaded up credit cards, borrowed from relatives, and delayed repaying student loans after the premature birth of their twins left them with $80,000 in debt. Ward, a nurse practitioner, took on extra nursing shifts, working days and nights.

"I wanted to be a mom," she said. "But we had to have the money."

The three are among more than 100 million people in America ― including 41% of adults ― beset by a health care system that is systematically pushing patients into debt on a mass scale, an investigation by KHN and NPR shows.

*snip*

[Gaugamela]

1. American exceptionalism. No other economically advanced country does this. Nt