One in six patients face collections over medical debt

An analysis from HelpAdvisor illustrates how medical debt affects the average American.

One out of every six Americans who have a credit bureau report have medical debt that is in the hands of a collection agency as of February 2022, according to the report. In certain areas of the U.S., the rate of people with medical debt in collections is more than 40%.
Medical debt is a common issue in the U.S., with some 43 million people having unpaid medical bills in 2021, and more than 40% of adults currently have some debt caused by medical or dental bills.
Medical debt often ends up in collections, with the federal government reporting that 57% of all collections accounts are for medical debt.
Here are some key findings from the report:

• North Carolina – which as a state has the fourth-highest rate of residents with medical debt in collections – accounts for three of the top four counties in the top 50 and nine of the top 18.
• North Carolina is home to three of the six U.S. counties with at least a 40% rate of residents with medical debt in collections.
• Texas (14 counties) and North Carolina (13 counties) together make up more than half of the counties with the 50 highest rates of medical debt in collections.
• In 47 U.S. counties, at least one third of the population has medical debt in collections. In 356 counties, at least a quarter of the population has medical debt in collections.
• 24% of West Virginia residents have medical debt in collections. More than one out of five people in West Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Carolina have medical debt in collections.