Terry Belk, a North Carolina man, has been struggling with medical debt for over a decade after his wife's battle with breast cancer and his own prostate cancer diagnosis. Despite having health insurance, the mounting bills led to aggressive collection efforts from Atrium Health, the nonprofit hospital treating the Belks.
In North Carolina , a state hard hit by the national crisis of medical debt , Terry Belk has spent 20 years struggling to get free of"this ... anvil I'm dragging around."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.
Terry Belk's home in Charlotte, N.C. In 2021, three of the top 10 U.S. counties with residents holding medical debt were in North Carolina.Asked about Belk’s situation, a spokesman for Atrium Health said it has used litigation against patients “as a last resort.” Belk signed both the deed of trust and the other judgment voluntarily, the spokesman said, “and presumably on the advice of his attorney.”Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know.
“I didn’t ask to have a hernia,” she said. “I used to be an elementary school teacher and have not had a lot of money in recent years.” North Carolina residents shoulder high amounts of medical debt because recent mergers among hospitals in the state have curtailed competition among facilities, said , president and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. As hospitals consolidate, he said, their increased market power drives up the costs of care, especially in rural areas. “When hospitals merge, prices go up,” he said.
From January 2017 through June 2022, North Carolina hospitals sued 7,517 patients and their family members to collect medical debt, according to a recent by Duke University School of Law faculty and North Carolina’s Office of State Treasurer. Many of the legal actions resulted in default judgments in state district courts; interest charges and other added fees accounted for an astounding 35% of the $57.3 million in total judgments owed by patients.
Medical Debt Healthcare Costs Cancer Treatment Atrium Health North Carolina
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