medical debt

the North Carolina Legislative Building

NC Senate committee approves caps on medical debt interest, limits on aggressive collection tactics

BY: - April 20, 2023

A bill that would limit aggressive medical debt collection tactics got its first affirmative vote in the legislature Thursday as it moved through a Senate committee with little discussion. Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican running for governor, has been promoting the “Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act” for months at community gatherings statewide.  The bill would prohibit […]

Two communities find a cure for medical debt: pandemic stimulus funds

BY: - November 21, 2022

Local governments in Ohio and Illinois are using American Rescue Plan Act money to relieve residents struggling with medical debt by partnering with an organization that buys debt and wipes the slate clean for debtors. It’s a strategy advocates say could be duplicated across the country to help erase a multi-billion-dollar problem.

State Treasurer backs legislation that would give millions in NC free or discounted hospital care. It faces more review.  

BY: - June 9, 2022

Millions of North Carolinians would be eligible for discounted or free hospital care, even after their insurance was billed, under proposed legislation debated this week.   People who make up to 200% of the federal poverty level – this year, that’s $55,500 for a family of four - would receive free hospital care, under House Bill 1039. People in households of four people with incomes between $55,500 and $166,500, or 600% of the federal poverty level, would be eligible for discounts.

COMMENTARY

Another byproduct of the Medicaid Blockade: Catastrophic medical bills, massive debt for families

BY: - February 22, 2017

There are a lot of terrible problems that North Carolinians have been forced to endure as a result of the Medicaid Blockade that state legislators continue to enforce. Here’s another especially awful one: Every year, an average of 14,776 North Carolina families experience financial distress as the result of catastrophic medical bills. This is the […]