Medical Debt Plagues 41% of Americans, KFF Survey Finds

Four in ten adults have medical debt, with nearly half owing $2,500 or more, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

The KFF Health Care Debt Survey reflects responses from 2,375 adults across the country.

The survey found that 41 percent of adults currently have debt caused by medical or dental bills. Specifically, 24 percent of respondents said they have past-due medical bills or bills they cannot pay and 21 percent reported medical debt they are paying off over time directly to a provider.

Meanwhile, 17 percent of adults have medical debt owed to a bank, collection agency, or another lender, while another 17 percent said they have medical bills they put on a credit card and are paying off over time.

Ten percent of adults reported owing a debt to a family member or friend for money they borrowed to help pay a medical bill.

Medical debt was more common among certain populations, the survey found.

For example, adults with lower incomes and lower levels of education were more likely to report having current medical debt than those with higher income and education. More than half (57 percent) of adults with household incomes under $40,000 said they had medical debt, while 26 percent of those with household incomes of $90,000 or more said the same.

Higher-income adults were more likely to report medical debt in the form of credit card debt or bank loans, while lower-income individuals were more likely to be indebted to friends or family, the survey noted.

Almost half (47 percent) of adults without a college degree reported having medical debt compared to 31 percent of college graduates.

Gender and race were also associated with the presence of medical debt.

Nearly half of women (48 percent) reported medical debt compared to 34 percent of men. Similarly, 56 percent of Black individuals and 50 percent of Hispanic adults said they had medical debt, while 37 percent of White adults said the same.

Uninsured individuals under age 65 were also more likely to have medical debt compared to those with health insurance (62 percent versus 44 percent).

All adults over 65 were less likely to have medical debt compared to their younger counterparts, which can likely be attributed to Medicare providing near-universal coverage to seniors.

Medical debt amounts varied among survey respondents. Fifty-six percent reported owing less than $2,500, with 18 percent owing between $500 and $1,000 and 16 percent of those owing less than $500.

Meanwhile, 44 percent of adults reported owing at least $2,500 in medical debt, with 12 percent owing $10,000 or more.

Black adults (24 percent), lower-income individuals (26 percent), and uninsured people (25 percent) were most likely to think they will never be able to pay off their medical debt.

According to the survey, the top five sources of medical debt were lab fees or diagnostic tests, doctor visits, emergency care, dental care, and hospitalization.

Medical debt can lead to significant consequences for individuals and families. For example, 63 percent of adults with medical debt reported cutting back on buying food, clothing, and essential household items. Nearly half (48 percent) said they used all or most of their savings, while 41 percent increased their credit card debt for other purchases.

Additionally, respondents reported being contacted by a collection agency (47 percent) and seeing a negative effect on their credit score (35 percent).

After the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that credit reports disclosed $88 billion in medical debt in 2021, three credit reporting agencies announced that they planned to remove nearly 70 percent of medical collection debt tradelines from consumer credit reports.

In addition, the Biden administration recently announced a series of reforms that aim to alleviate medical debt burden among Americans.