Americans Borrowed $74 Billion To Cover Medical Bills

About 31 million Americans borrowed money to pay for health care last year, accumulating $74 billion in medical debt, according to a survey published Wednesday.

The West Health-Gallup Healthcare survey found 12% of the nation’s residents borrowed to pay for health care over the past year, and 58% were concerned they would rack up medical debt if they had a major health issue. The survey of 3,583 U.S. adults in 50 states and Washington D.C. was conducted over one week in November 2024.

Young adults, Black and Hispanic adults and women were more likely to borrow for health expenses, the survey said.

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The rising number of Americans taking on medical debt comes as House Republicans have proposed $880 billion in savings and cuts from a congressional committee that oversees Medicaid, the federal health program for low-income and disabled people. And the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau − an agency that extended protections to consumers with medical debt − is uncertain after President Donald Trump fired Director Rohit Chopra and appointed a new director, Russell Vought, who paused the agency’s work.

While Democrats have warned about potential cuts to Medicaid, Republican leaders have said enough savings can be achieved by targeting fraud and waste and requiring healthy Medicaid recipients to work to maintain taxpayer-funded coverage.

As Congress and the Trump administration consider health-related saving as part of an effort to pare federal spending, consumers are worried about how such changes could impact medical debt, according to Tim Lash, president of West Health.

“The cost of health care continues to be a major burden on our families and and our economy,” Lash said. “We’ve got to be able to find $74 billion in savings so families don’t have to borrow money to get access to the care that they need.”

Young adults more likely to borrow for health care

West Health, which operates three nonprofits, has teamed with Gallup since 2018 to fund surveys on topics of health quality, affordability, equity and access.

The survey released Wednesday found 18% of those aged 18 to 29 said they borrowed money to pay for health care in the past year. By comparison, just 9% of adults aged 50 to 64 and 2% of those 65 and older said they borrowed to pay for medical bills.

Even though a smaller share of older adults struggled with health expenses, those who did grappled with pricier medical bills than younger adults.

Among those 50 and older who borrowed for medical care, half needed $3,000 or more to pay health expenses. Young adults aged 18 to 29 tended to have less expensive care, borrowing a median $300 to cover health bills, the survey said.

The survey did not ask participants how they borrowed for health care. But past surveys suggest people often use credit cards, bank loans or borrow from family or friends, survey officials said.

“People are being forced to make trade-offs between vacations, and in some cases, rent,” Lash said. People are “going into debt to access medical care.”

Worries about medical debt persist across age, gender and race

The survey said adults 65 and older − the group eligible for Medicare, the federal health program for adults of that age − were not shielded from medical debt. Slightly more than half of adults 65 to 74 were somewhat or very concerned that a health issue could lead to medical debt.

In fact, angst over medical debt cuts across age, gender, racial and income groups. More than 6 in 10 Black and Hispanic adults were somewhat or very concerned about medical debt, a slightly higher rate than white adults. About 62% of women were concerned about medical debt, compared to 54% of men.

Working-class households also were more likely to worry about medical debt. Those living in households with income of $24,000 to $48,000 were most likely to worry about medical debt, with 69% saying they were somewhat or very concerned about affording a medical bill. Those worries lessened – but did not disappear – for higher-income households. Four in 10 adults with household income exceeding $180,000 were concerned about medical debt.

Past surveys from West Health and Gallup found millions resorted to skipping treatments or avoiding care due to worries about affordability.

Survey officials warned lower-income families could take on more debt – or struggle to get appointments – should Congress cut Medicaid funding.

“As we see these rollbacks in Medicaid, that could have really significant repercussions when it comes to medical debt,” said Dan Witters, research director at Gallup.

If Medicaid recipients lose coverage, Witters said they might need to borrow and accumulate debt to pay for health care. “Those results can be very real and very significant,” he said.

How could the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s turmoil impact consumers with medical debt?

In the waning days of the Biden administration, the consumer watchdog agency finalized a rule that would prohibit lenders from using a person’s medical debt history to make lending decisions. The rule was scheduled to take effect March 17. A credit union and other parties sued to halt the rule, and a federal judge in Texas issued a 90-day stay, effectively delaying the rule’s start date to June 15.

The legal battle over the medical debt rule comes as questions swirl about the future of the consumer agency itself. The Trump administration has denied in court papers that intends to abolish the agency completely, arguing that some of its functions are continuing, but Reuters on Monday reported top officials at the consumer agency have not allowed staff to resume supervising financial companies.

Patricia Kelmar, senior director of health care campaigns at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, said the rule is an important tool to prevent consumers from taking a credit hit due to a medical bill. She said medical bills often contain errors, and consumers credit scores can be lowered, even if the debt isn’t legitimate.

The rule offers critical protections for consumers who incur medical debt, Kelmar said. Medical bills accounted for more than half of debt collection on consumers’ credit records, according to a 2022 report from the consumer agency.

Medical debt “is the end product of an expensive healthcare system,” Kelmar said. “People are paying a lot out of pocket.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Americans borrowed $74 billion to cover medical bills. Here’s who paid the most.