Medical Debt Statistics
How Much Medical Debt Is There in the US?
The total amount of medical debt in the United States falls into the $88 billion (according to CFPB) to $195 billion range. Although this is a rather “generous” range, it is challenging to get an accurate figure, as many people use credit cards, loans, or other forms of financing to cover their medical costs.[8]✓
✓ Trusted source
CFPB
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a United States federal organization in charge of financial consumer protection.
How Much Medical Debt Does the Average American Have?
Healthcare debt is a problem many Americans deal with, some of them finding themselves under challenging circumstances because of it, while others manage to stay on top of their bills. Wyoming has the highest average health care debt of all states, with $1,611, while Alaska comes second with $1,363. You might be wondering, why is health care debt so high in Alaska? Well, that’s because medical services cost a lot more than they cost in other states, considering accessibility to all medical services and procedures, costs of transportation for all medical supplies, and other factors.[9]
How Do People Tackle Medical Debt?
Health care services are quite costly in the U.S., and not all of the cost is covered by insurance. Many Americans, even those with insurance, fall into debt because of their high hospital bills.
A survey designed to reveal how Americans manage medical debt found that 63% of the people surveyed said they had to cut back on food and basic necessities to stay on top of their bills, while 48% used up all of their savings to pay off the debt. Unfortunately, some have been put in situations where they filed for bankruptcy, asked for charity aid, or lost their home.[9]
