Eliminating Medical Debt Isn’t a Magic Cure-All

Hi, it’s John in New York. Medical debt is a growing problem for Americans, though finding solutions may be harder than it seems. More on that below. But first ...

Medical debt is a big problem in the US. About 14 million people owe at least $1,000 in medical debt, according to health researcher KFF, and the total sum tops $220 billion. The hospitals and other medical providers owed this money often sell the right to collect it for a small fraction of the face value, allowing debt collectors to hound their former patients for years on end.