U.S. medical debt hits $195 billion
Facts at your Fingertips
By Emily Margosian, Assistant Editor, August 1, 2022
Although 90% of the United States population possesses some form of health insurance, medical debt remains a persistent — and potentially debilitating — problem for many. Data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau found that Americans currently owe an estimated $195 billion for health care received.
While COVID-19 has likely had an impact due to lost jobs and delayed access to care early in the pandemic, rising medical debt has also been attributed to a growing disparity between median U.S. household income and insurance costs. A 2022 Commonwealth Fund report found that workers across 37 states spent 10% or more of their earnings on health insurance premiums or deductibles, with workers from Mississippi and New Mexico experiencing the greatest disparity between their income and insurance costs.
According to U.S. Census data, despite the prevalence of medical debt across different demographics, middle-aged adults, Black Americans, and people living in southern or non-Medicaid expansion states are most likely to be impacted. For a more detailed look at medical debt in the United States by demographic, see the graphic below.
