medical debt – The News Desk

New York joins Colorado in banning medical debt from consumer credit scores

15Dec

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Money

New York joins Colorado in banning medical debt from consumer credit scores

New York has become the second U.S. state to protect their residents' credit scores from being tarnished by unpaid medical bills.New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed a bill barring credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion from factoring in medical debt in consumers' credit reports. Colorado also excludes medical debt from credit scores, except in certain circumstances. "I'm signing a bill that bans hospitals, health care providers and ambulances from reporting medical debt to your credit agencies," Hochul, a Democrat, said at the bill-signing ceremony in New York City. "People can focus on getting healthier and not focus on whether or not someone's going to catch you and trap you and make you spiral even more, so that's what we're talking about." ...

Medical debt can damage your credit score. Here’s what to know.

10Nov

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Money

Medical debt can damage your credit score. Here’s what to know.

Unlike other bills, the debts a growing number of Americans are piling up to obtain health care services are often unplanned, or the result of billing issues and other errors that reflect the challenge of navigating our dauntingly complex health care system.Although such problems often aren't the fault of patients, medical debt can scar their credit score, drive up health insurance premiums, and even impede their ability to secure a job or housing simply because of an unexpected trip to the emergency room, for example. Some 40% of U.S. adults owe money related to getting medical or dental care, according to a 2022 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, including credit card debt or other loans they took on to pay off a health care provider,. "So many...

Workers are paying 7% more this year for employer-sponsored health insurance

19Oct

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Health

Workers are paying 7% more this year for employer-sponsored health insurance

Health care costs rise as some struggle for coverage Health care costs rise as some struggle for coverage 02:34 Climbing food and housing prices aren't the only costs causing consumers to dig deeper into their pockets these days. Insurance premiums are forcing them to shell out more money, too. According to a new survey from health policy research firm KFF, workers this year are contributing, on average, $6,575 toward the cost of insurance premiums for their employer...

Biden administration to ban medical debt from Americans’ credit scores

21Sep

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Money

Biden administration to ban medical debt from Americans’ credit scores

The Biden administration announced a major initiative to protect Americans from medical debt on Thursday, outlining plans to develop federal rules barring unpaid medical bills from affecting patients' credit scores. The regulations, if enacted, would potentially help tens of millions of people who have medical debt on their credit reports, eliminating information that can depress consumers' scores and make it harder for many to get a job, rent an apartment, or secure a car loan. New rules would also represent one of the most significant federal actions to tackle medical debt, a problem that burdens about 100 million people and forces legions to take on extra work, give up their homes, and ration food and other essentials, a KFF Health News-NPR investigation found. ...

Medical credit cards can be poison for your finances, study finds

7Sep

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Health

Medical credit cards can be poison for your finances, study finds

Medical credit cards have proliferated in health care offices across the nation as more Americans struggle to afford treatment, even when they have insurance. Yet while these cards may seem like a good way to quickly pay for needed services, they come with some serious downsides that experts say could cost you dearly.One major card provider, CareCredit, is offered in more than 250,000 health care provider offices, an increase of more than 40% from a decade ago, according to a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The cards may seem appealing because they offer so-called deferred interest, which comes with 0% APR interest for an introductory period. But the "deferred" part of the agreement isn't favorable for borrowers if they can't pay off their bill in full before ...