Medical Debt and Consumer Credit Counseling Services

Medical debt, often the result of seeking costly needed care, has recently been identified as a barrier to care as well as a threat to families' financial well-being. Surveying households that seek credit counseling services, the authors offer new insight into the financial consequences of medical problems and the conditions under which they occur. They find that almost 40% of households seeking credit counseling services report that a medical problem contributed to their debt problem. They also find that single-female headed households and older households are more likely to have a medical problem that had financial consequences, and that having heath insurance does not necessarily protect households from burdensome health care costs. The authors conclude with policy recommendations for improving this situation, including better health insurance coverage and better understanding of the rules and regulations under which providers operate.