The Biden administration announced new measures to ease the financial burden of high medical bills. Here's how the measures can help and what's still missing to protect patients.
A Memphis hospital that filed more than 8,300 lawsuits for unpaid medical bills from 2014 through 2018 is forgiving many patients' debts, after an investigation by journalists.
A nonprofit hospital network in Memphis has taken its own workers to court over unpaid medical bills. Some of them earn as little as $12.25 an hour but still see their wages garnished.
When patients can't afford to pay their medical bills, many hospitals offer a payment plan — or free or discounted care. But some try to collect by suing patients and garnishing their wages.
More than half of Americans contacted about an overdue bill said it related to medical debt. Some consumer advocates say newly proposed limits on debt collectors don't do enough.
In Arizona, prisoners are being charged for medical procedures the state is supposed to pay for. The bills can ruin inmates' credit, adding to their challenges when they rejoin society.
A decade after the death of her husband, Fumiko Chino is studying the strain that uncovered medical costs put on cancer patients, even those who have insurance.
Health care forms increasingly ask about more than just medical history. That's because doctors are beginning to understand that patients' stress, and how and where they live, influence health, too.
Starting in September, the three main credit agencies will wait 180 days before including medical debt on a credit report, giving consumers time to resolve disputes with insurers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reports that 59 percent of people contacted by a debt collector had outstanding medical bills. Telecommunications and utility bills trailed far behind.
More than 30 percent of Floridians report having serious financial problems, compared with 26 percent of adults nationwide. Digging into those poll numbers shows large medical bills can be ruinous.
Insurers sometimes wrangle with patients and for months before paying a bill. A new six-month waiting period will give consumers time to resolve disputes and avoid having their credit ratings dinged.
NPR and ProPublica have been reporting about nonprofit hospitals that seize the wages of lower-income patients. Sen. Chuck Grassley says hospitals doing that could be breaking the law.
