ATLANTA — Even people with health insurance are struggling with medical debt, according to new survey data from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The survey found that 25% of Americans with health insurance reported having medical debt.
Among people without insurance, that number rises to 35%.
The findings come as many consumers are already facing rising health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical costs.
23-year-old Austell resident Sylvestor Olaniyan told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that he spent seven days at Grady Memorial Hospital after he was injured in a car crash where he was a passenger.
The crash left him with a broken knee, hip, and pelvis.
A few months after he was discharged, Olaniyan received a hospital bill totaling more than $491,000.
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“I go to the bill, and it’s about almost $500,000,” Olaniyan said. “The depression hit, like, ‘Oh, how am I going to pay this off?’”
Katherine Hempstead, with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said that in addition to the large percentage reporting medical debt, the survey showed roughly one-third of those with medical debt said they had been contacted by collection agencies.
“This is one of the reasons people are so frustrated with our system, because they don’t feel like the premiums that they’re paying are sufficiently protecting them from financial exposure,” Hempstead said.
Looking for help, Olaniyan contacted Dollar For, a nonprofit organization that helps patients apply for hospital charity care programs.
After applying for financial assistance through Grady, Olaniyan received another surprise when he checked his MyChart account.
“I logged on to it, and I was like, ‘Why does the bill say I don’t have anything?’” Olaniyan said. “Then I started looking at the bill. It says charity, and I was just wowed.”
According to his statement, Grady applied a charity care discount of approximately $476,000.
Olaniyan still owes about $11,000, but he said the balance is manageable through a payment plan. He has also moved from part-time to full-time employment and now has health insurance.
“It going from almost $500K to $11K is like a whole lot of stress lifted off my shoulders,” he said.
Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide charity care.
They can also usually provide zero-interest payment plans even for people who do not qualify for financial assistance.
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