The number of Americans struggling with medical debt is at its highest level in five years.
Since 2020, Debt.com has polled 1,000 Americans on their medical debt annually. The latest survey findings show more have medical debt, are in collections, and avoid health care due to their debts.
“Inflation may be subsiding, but the damage it wrought will stay with us for a long time,” says Debt.com president Don Silvestri. “Medical debt was a growing problem before inflation. Now it’s becoming a crisis.”
Key findings
- This year, 79% say “inflation has made it harder to pay their medical bills.” That’s a significant jump from 57% in 2022, the first year the question was asked.
- 66% have “outstanding medical bills or medical debt.” That’s up from 46%, five years ago when the survey was first conducted.
- Half (50%) have medical debt in collections. That’s up from 28% three years ago.
- More than half (52%) “avoid medical care because of their debt.” Only 28% said the same in 2022.
The data shows one generation is struggling with medical debt more than others…
- Millennials (77%) are most likely to have outstanding medical bills or medical debt. That’s compared to 72% of Gen X, 71% of Gen Z, and 52% of Baby Boomers.
- More Millennials (62%) than all other generations have had their medical bills sent to collections. Half (53%) of Gen X, 36% of Gen Z, and 24% of Baby Boomers report the same.
- 62% of Millennials avoid medical care because of their debt. Meanwhile, 57% Gen X, 48% Gen Z, and 24% of Baby Boomers also do too.
- More than half (55%) of all respondents say medical debt holds them back from future life goals like marriage, buying a home, and starting a family. That includes 64% of Millennials, 59% of Gen X, 52% of Gen Z, and 30% of Baby Boomers.
Debt.com’s chairman Howard Dvorkin, CPA discusses Debt.com’s latest medical debt survey findings…
Click here for full video transcript
0:06debt.com just finished our fifth annual
0:08medical debt survey and what we found
0:10was that medical debt among Americans is
0:12the highest that it’s been in the past 5
0:15years what do you think is causing this
0:17problem and how can we solve it one of
0:20the major problems is insurance doesn’t
0:22cover as much as it used to a lot of
0:25companies that offer Insurance have
0:27higher deductibles Obamacare which was a
0:30great idea their base plan has a
0:34$110,000 deductible before they start
0:37paying for anything that’s a problem so
0:40you got to hit
0:41$10,000 in debt before you get any
0:45relief with inflation all costs are
0:48going up and people are paying medical
0:53bills last instead of first and frankly
0:57that’s because medical bills typically
0:59they don’t hurt Rass you they don’t call
1:01you as much they may send you a bill
1:03once in a while but they’re not as
1:05aggressive as a credit card company will
1:08be your car payment uh mortgage payments
1:13so they’re down on the totem pole um the
1:16other part
1:18is affordability if you go to a medical
1:22provider these days they charge you the
1:24book
1:25rate I have a doctor friend he gets paid
1:30by the insurance company $300 for the
1:34same
1:35procedure that he charges his patients
1:38without insurance
1:40$33,000 that’s a massive difference and
1:44consumers are just stuck now there’s a
1:46lot of things consumers can do including
1:50going through and negotiating with their
1:53insur with their medical providers and
1:55they’re willing to work with you on that
1:58and I’ve done that personally for
2:00certain things that being said you know
2:05there’s only certain limitations they’ll
2:07also take payments so if you don’t have
2:11the money pay something every month
2:13whether it’s $5 or $10 as long as you
2:16pay something they’ll cash that check I
2:19promise you and it may not be what they
2:22want but they will cash that check they
2:24will leave you alone the other benefit
2:27recently from from medical debt is that
2:30there’s not a
2:32reporting uh worry that you have because
2:36medical debts are not reported on credit
2:40reports for the first couple years I
2:42forget the exact uh timing but before if
2:47you were laid on a medical debt they put
2:49it on your credit report now they can’t
2:52put it on your credit report for a while
2:54at least well that’s good especially
2:56since we also found that millennials
2:59have felt the biggest impact of this
3:02medical debt they feel like that’s
3:04keeping them from future life goals it’s
3:08going to impact their credit score
3:09they’re putting it on credit cards what
3:11advice would you give a millennial who’s
3:14currently going through all this medical
3:17debt fear on how to manage their medical
3:20debt or if they have too much and they
3:22don’t exactly know what to do where to
3:25go how how can we help combat this they
3:29have to know where they’re going so they
3:32have to have it laid out and if you have
3:33a medical issue it’s not one bill it may
3:37be 10 bills so you have to figure out
3:40what insurance is covering if you have
3:42insurance and what it’s not that’s the
3:45first step then the remainder and you
3:48could go to a credit counseling uh
3:51company and talk to them or you can do
3:54it yourself which is pretty easy again
3:57you can go through and make any payment
4:00you want to these medical providers
4:04there’s a big difference if insurance is
4:06covering some and this is just the
4:08leftover from the insurance company um
4:12but as long as you pay something every
4:14month they’re not going to go after you
4:17they’re not going to report you even if
4:19they say I want $100 a month from you
4:23the medical provider and you only can
4:25afford 10 send them 10 the other thing
4:27is you can go and look online for a
4:31medical Advocate because you need to go
4:34through and look at the bills these
4:36bills are complicated and there’s a lot
4:39of overcharging going on in the medical
4:41field and frankly the the the neoy the
4:46young uh Millennial is not going to know
4:50what these charges are all about and
4:52frankly most likely a doctor wouldn’t
4:54know why these charges are being
4:56assessed a lot of them don’t no they
4:58don’t it’s just being assessed um by a
5:02computer and it may be a fat fingers a
5:05keyboard
5:06error it might be
How many Americans have medical debt?
What percent of American adults are carrying medical debt? (broken down by generations)
What is inflation’s impact on medical debt for Americans?
Have rates of medical debt in collections increased due to inflation?
Which generation has had the most medical bills sent to collections?
How does medical debt impact the lives of Americans?
How does medical debt impact Americans financially?
Where in the U.S. do Americans have the most medical debt?
For full survey results
| Do you have outstanding medical bills or medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 66% |
| No | 34% |
| Have your medical bills been sent to collections? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 50% |
| No | 39% |
| Unsure | 12% |
| How much do you owe in medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| $250-$500 | 36% |
| $501-$1,000 | 13% |
| $1,001-$5,000 | 15% |
| $5,001-$10,000 | 12% |
| $10,001-$50,000 | 7% |
| $50,001-$100,000 | 4% |
| $101,000-$150,000 | 8% |
| More than $150,000 | 6% |
| Have you been avoiding medical care because of your debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 52% |
| No | 48% |
| What type of health insurance do you have? | |
|---|---|
| Employer-provided | 50% |
| Medicare or Medicaid | 36% |
| Self-purchased through an exchange | 8% |
| None | 5% |
| What is the primary source of your medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic tests | 26% |
| Hospitalization | 18% |
| Emergency room | 14% |
| Outpatient services | 10% |
| Doctor visits | 16% |
| Dental care | 8% |
| Prescription drugs | 5% |
| Nursing home/long-term care | 1% |
| Has inflation made it harder to pay your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 79% |
| No | 21% |
| How did your insurance company respond to your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Told me I received out-of-network care | 39% |
| Denied my claim | 20% |
| Other – N/A | 42% |
| Have you tried negotiating to lower the cost of your bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes, I tried to negotiate on my own | 45% |
| Yes, I used a medical bills advocate | 12% |
| No | 43% |
| Were you successful in this negotiation? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 47% |
| No | 53% |
| Are you currently on a payment plan? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 55% |
| No | 45% |
| Is your medical debt holding you back from future life goals? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 55% |
| No | 45% |
| How has your medical debt interrupted your finances? | |
|---|---|
| I had to withdraw all the money in my emergency fund | 14% |
| I had to withdraw money from my retirement account | 11% |
| I took out a HELOC on my home to pay my medical bills | 6% |
| I charged the medical debt on a credit card | 28% |
| My medical debt caused me to go further into debt with credit cards and personal loans | 20% |
| I’ve had to pick up multiple jobs to pay the medical debt | 9% |
| I can’t see a doctor until I pay down more of my medical debt | 11% |
For 2023’s full survey results, click here
| Do you have outstanding medical bills or medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 49.50% |
| No | 50.50% |
| Have your medical bills been sent to collections? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 31.54% |
| No | 56.39% |
| Unsure | 12.08% |
| How much do you owe in medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Less than $500 | 55.69% |
| $501-$1,000 | 11.68% |
| $1,001-$5,000 | 15.37% |
| $5,001-$10,000 | 6.29% |
| $10,001-$50,000 | 4.59% |
| $50,001-$100,000 | 2.20% |
| $101,000-$150,000 | 2.59% |
| More than $150,000 | 1.60% |
| Have you been avoiding medical care because of your debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 33.63% |
| No | 66.37% |
| What type of health insurance do you have? | |
|---|---|
| Employer-provided | 45.41% |
| Medicare or Medicaid | 38.62% |
| Self-purchased through an exchange | 8.78% |
| None | 7.19% |
| What is the primary source of your medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic tests | 15.47% |
| Hospitalization | 16.87% |
| Emergency room | 16.67% |
| Outpatient services | 10.18% |
| Doctor visits | 21.06% |
| Dental care | 10.988% |
| Prescription drugs | 7.49% |
| Nursing home/long-term care | 1.30% |
| Has inflation made it harder to pay your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 66.97% |
| No | 33.03% |
| How did your insurance company respond to your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Told me I received out-of-network care | 22.26% |
| Denied my claim | 14.47% |
| Other – N/A | 63.27% |
| Have you tried negotiating to lower the cost of your bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes, I tried to negotiate on my own | 29.64% |
| Yes, I used a medical bills advocate | 11.08% |
| No | 59.28% |
| Were you successful in this negotiation? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 31.24% |
| No | 68.76% |
| Are you currently on a payment plan? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 35.53% |
| No | 64.47% |
For 2022’s full survey results, click here
| Do you have outstanding medical bills or medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 44.46% |
| No | 55.54% |
| Have your medical bills been sent to collections? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 28.41% |
| No | 61.44% |
| Unsure | 10.15% |
| How much do you owe in medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Less than $500 | 59.23% |
| $501-$1,000 | 33.21% |
| $1,001-$5,000 | 15.68% |
| $5,001-$10,000 | 5.35% |
| $10,001-$50,000 | 2.95% |
| $50,001-$100,000 | 2.03% |
| $101,000-$150,000 | 0.92% |
| More than $150,000 | 1.11% |
| Have you been avoiding medical care because of your debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 27.68% |
| No | 72.32% |
| What type of health insurance do you have? | |
|---|---|
| Employer-provided | 45.94% |
| Medicare or Medicaid | 36.90% |
| Self-purchased through an exchange | 10.89% |
| None | 6.27% |
| What is the primary source of your medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic tests | 15.68% |
| Hospitalization | 14.02% |
| Emergency room | 15.68% |
| Outpatient services | 11.07% |
| Doctor visits | 21.22% |
| Dental care | 11.25% |
| Prescription drugs | 9.23% |
| Nursing home/long-term care | 1.85% |
| Has inflation made it harder to pay your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 57.38% |
| No | 42.62% |
| How did your insurance company respond to your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Told me I received out-of-network care | 21.22% |
| Denied my claim | 10.70% |
| Other – N/A | 68.08% |
| Have you tried negotiating to lower the cost of your bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes, I tried to negotiate on my own | 26.38% |
| Yes, I used a medical bills advocate | 8.12% |
| No | 65.50% |
| Were you successful in this negotiation? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 26.20% |
| No | 73.80% |
| Are you currently on a payment plan? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 29.15% |
| No | 73.80% |
For 2021’s full survey results, click here
| Do you have outstanding medical bills or medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 50.09% |
| No | 49.91% |
| Have your medical bills been sent to collections? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 45.86% |
| No | 39.47% |
| Unsure | 14.67% |
| How much do you owe in medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Less than $500 | 20% |
| $501-$1,000 | 23.26% |
| $1,001-$5,000 | 33.72% |
| $5,001-$10,000 | 12.02% |
| $10,001-$50,000 | 6.9% |
| $50,001-$100,000 | 1.94% |
| $101,000-$150,000 | 1% |
| More than $150,000 | 1.16% |
| What type of health insurance do you have? | |
|---|---|
| Employer-provided | 37.65% |
| Medicare or Medicaid | 45.88% |
| Self-purchased through an exchange | 11.76% |
| None | 4.71% |
| What is the primary source of your medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic tests | 23.77% |
| Hospitalization | 18.33% |
| Emergency room | 18.56% |
| Outpatient services | 15.16% |
| Doctor visits | 13.11% |
| Dental care | 6.15% |
| Prescription drugs | 4.10% |
| Nursing home/long-term care | 0.82% |
| How did your insurance company respond to your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Told me I received out-of-network care | 14.54% |
| Denied my claim | 13.22% |
| Other – N/A | 72.24% |
| Have you tried negotiating to lower the cost of your bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes, I tried to negotiate on my own | 35.32% |
| Yes, I used a medical bills advocate | 4.25% |
| No | 60.40% |
| Were you successful in this negotiation? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 34.04% |
| No | 65.96% |
| Are you currently on a payment plan? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 34.63% |
| No | 65.37% |
For full 2020 survey results, click here
| Do you have outstanding medical bills or medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 45.87% |
| No | 54.13% |
| Have your medical bills been sent to collections? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 56.16% |
| No | 30.78% |
| Unsure | 13.06% |
| How much do you owe in medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Less than $500 | 13.77% |
| $501-$1,000 | 18.55% |
| $1,001-$5,000 | 31.93% |
| $5,001-$10,000 | 14.91% |
| $10,001-$50,000 | 15.30% |
| $50,001-$100,000 | 3.06% |
| $101,000-$150,000 | 0.96% |
| More than $150,000 | 1.53% |
| What type of health insurance do you have? | |
|---|---|
| Employer-provided | 43.13% |
| Medicare or Medicaid | 36.17% |
| Self-purchased through an exchange | 8.90% |
| None | 11.80% |
| What is the primary source of your medical debt? | |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic tests | 21.68% |
| Hospitalization | 24.80% |
| Emergency room | 18.95% |
| Outpatient services | 10.94% |
| Doctor visits | 14.84% |
| Dental care | 4.30% |
| Prescription drugs | 3.71% |
| Nursing home/long-term care | 0.78% |
| How did your insurance company respond to your medical bills? | |
|---|---|
| Told me I received out-of-network care | 55.80% |
| Denied my claim | 44.20% |
| Have you tried negotiating to lower the cost of your bills? | |
|---|---|
| Yes, I tried to negotiate on my own | 34.55% |
| Yes, I used a medical bills advocate | 4.94% |
| No | 60.52% |
| Were you successful in this negotiation? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 27.47% |
| No | 72.53% |
Methodology: Debt.com surveyed 1,091 people and asked 13 questions related to their medical debt. People responded from all 50 states and Washington, DC and were aged 18 and above. Responses were collected through SurveyMonkey. The survey was conducted on June 11, 2024.
