Medical Debt Relief Act Evens Things Out….Sort Of
From 1999 to 2009, premium costs for family insurance have risen by one hundred and thirty one percent. That\’s easily over three times the rate at which wages rose during this time. In the recession, millions of jobs have been lost, putting workers who just lost their jobs at risk of also
In 2007, about seventy two million Americans struggled with their medical bills. A large amount of these people made paying off their medical bills their top priority, while they had to struggle to pay for basic necessities like food, rent or heat. More than THIRTY MILLION American adults used up ALL of their savings or BORROWED AGAINST THEIR HOMES in order to pay off medical bills. Unfortunately, in this time of economic hardship, many Americans could not stop the bill collector from knocking on their door.
Thirty million Americans are contacted every year by collection agencies for delinquent medical bills; many struggle to pay these. Many people are unclear as to why their insurance refused to pay a claim, others are confused about the amount they owe. Over half of people who were surveyed said that they were puzzled by the medical jargon on their bills, and one in four said confusion led them to allow bills to go past the due date or to be sent to a collection agency.
A medical bill that is being sent to collections will typically be reported to credit bureaus. Unpaid debts will results in a lower credit score. Medical accounts, even those that have been fully paid off will remain on a credit report for up to seven years. This will result in lower credit scores and increases the costs of mortgages, car loans, or credit card interest.
Luckily, Ohio Congresswoman Kilroy saw the consequences of outstanding medical bills. She decided to take action because she saw medical debt as unique. She introduced The Medical Debt Relief Act, which states that medical debt that is fully paid off or settled must be removed from a consumer\’s credit report within thirty days.
Although this does not fix our botched healthcare system, it would provide relief for those who have paid off medical debt, while the rest of us wait for better health care reform.
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a debt collection agency. She also does articles on business, finance, consumer spending, and debt collection. This and other unique content \’rmcb collection agency\’ articles are available with free reprint rights.