A recent New York Times article highlighting a hospital in New Mexico and others across the country that are filing lawsuits over unpaid hospital bills in record numbers. Interesting information as we look at ways to reduce or prevent debt. READ NOW
[EXCERPTED] Nationally, more than one in four consumers in 2018 were reported to credit bureaus over unpaid debt, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. More than half of those reports involved medical bills. One survey of women with breast cancer found that a third of those with health insurance had been referred to bill collectors; among those without insurance, the number rose to 77 percent.
People confronted with medical debt typically drain their savings, the Commonwealth Fund has found, and 43 percent said it lowered their credit rating, suggesting that many of these consumers were reported to collections agencies
