The Washington Post, July 26, 2024, How Kamala Harris Is Tackling Medical Debt — With Roy Cooper’s Help
While a record number of Americans now have health insurance, patient advocates warn that medical debt continues to be a source of financial distress.
“Our estimates are that for someone in the U.S. who gets a new cancer diagnosis, about 40 percent of them deplete their life savings almost in the first two years of cancer care,” said Karen E. Knudsen, chief executive of the American Cancer Society.
Some researchers have concluded that reducing or eliminating medical debt may have little impact on individual behavior and finances, noting that many Americans rarely repay long-lasting medical debt.
