14 million Americans owe at least $1,000 in medical debt, with South Dakota, Mississippi and North Carolina as the top three states. Collectively, Americans owe $220 billion in medical debt, turning medical emergencies into financial crises across the country. NBC News' Christine Romans has a closer look in our series, 'The Cost of Living.
In 2012, Terry Belk’s beloved wife, Sandra, died after a yearslong battle with breast cancer. The car salesman in Charlotte, North Carolina, had quit work to take care of his wife, and the bills for her treatment were more than he could pay, even with health insurance. Adding to his burden, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that year, generating additional bills for his own treatment. Atrium Health, the nonprofit hospital treating the Belks, pursued them aggressively for their debts.
8% interest rates In 2023, Darcy Guill, 52, underwent emergency hernia surgery. She had health insurance with a marketplace plan but later that year received a $4,000 bill from the hospital for the amount her plan didn’t cover. Guill, who has multiple sclerosis, lives in Aiden, North Carolina, a rural community just south of Greenville. She said she is paying approximately $123 a month on the bill. “I didn’t ask to have a hernia,” she said.
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