Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joshua Cohen is a Boston-based writer who covers health policy. This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more. This voice ...

What percentage of Americans have medical debt in 2026? Approximately 72 million people (41% of working-age Americans) have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt, according to ...

Achieve reports that if faced with high medical bills, options like debt forgiveness, negotiation, and checking for billing ...

The people most vulnerable to medical debt often face systemic barriers to health care that are further exacerbated by debt accumulation, creating a compounding effect leading to adverse health ...

Lawmakers in at least eight states this year are aiming to reel in wage garnishment for unpaid medical bills. “In the wealthiest country on Earth, people are going bankrupt, suffering wage garnishment ...

Gov. Phil Murphy announced the sixth round of New Jersey’s Medical Debt Relief Initiative Jan. 2. The latest move eliminates more than $86 million in medical debt for over 53,000 residents through the ...

Medical debt significantly increases the risk of housing instability, including eviction and foreclosure, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Adults with medical debt often have lower ...

It is legal to garnish patients’ wages for medical debt in all but a few states, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation based in New York focused on health care. Lawmakers in at ...

Approximately 72 million people (41% of working-age Americans) have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt, according to a survey from The Commonwealth Fund. Medical debt is ...