Paduda: Medical Debt Is Crushing Americans

Thursday, September 28, 2023 | 0

One out of three adults has medical debt. 

Joe Paduda

For many, this has a major impact on daily life.

Medical debt can be a huge obstacle, preventing families from buying a home, purchasing or leasing a vehicle or even paying for college for their kids.

That’s because credit bureaus include medical debt in their scoring algorithms. 

Looks like that will be changing.

From Vice President Kamala Harris' office:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will propose a new rule to make clear that medical debt cannot impact the credit scores of the American people. Once this rule is final, it will mean, one, that consumer credit reports will not include medical debt and, two, that creditors will not be able to use medical debt to determine a person’s eligibility for credit. 

Almost two-thirds of those with medical debt had insurance when they began treatment. A quarter of those had their claims denied.

What does this mean for you?

Help is on the way.

Joseph Paduda is co-owner of CompPharma, a consulting firm focused on improving pharmacy programs in workers’ compensation. This column is republished with his permission from his Managed Care Matters blog.