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Medical debt in the U.S. - Statistics & Facts

Medical debt results from the high or unexpected health care expenses that an individual is unable to pay. Unlike other debts, medical debts are usually unplanned, two-thirds of medical debts are the result of a one-time or short-term medical expense arising from acute healthcare needs. An increasing number of Americans are finding unexpected healthcare costs unaffordable, while many are delaying required care due to costs. It is a significant and growing problem in the United States where public health insurance coverage is limited to certain groups of people, mainly through Medicare and Medicaid. In contrast, people in Western Europe and other developed countries like Japan and Australia benefit from some form of universal health coverage that protects them from unaffordable health care costs.

Health insurance in the United States

Since the repeal of the Affordable Care Act individual mandate, people living in the United States are no longer required to have health insurance. The number of people without health insurance in the U.S. has been around 30 million for a few years, leaving them susceptible to medical debt. The country has both public and private insurers, but data regarding U.S. health insurance by type of coverage shows that the majority of people have private health insurance through their employer. Nevertheless, just because an individual has health insurance through their employer does not necessarily make them impervious to medical debt.

How many people have medical debt, and what do they owe?

Surprise medical bills or out-of-network billing are unexpected medical costs that can considerably increase a person's financial burden and lead to medical debt. The latest data suggests that nearly 100 million adults in the U.S. are saddled with medical debt, ranging from under 500 U.S. dollars to over 5,000 U.S. dollars. A different survey found that diagnostic tests, trips to doctors or specialists, and emergency room visits were the main sources of medical debt among U.S. adults. Adults with healthcare debt report making a variety of sacrifices and suffering significant financial consequences in their efforts to pay off their debt. Furthermore, unpaid medical bills exceeding 500 U.S. dollars can also have a negative impact on a person's credit rating if the debt is handed over to a collection agency by the credit provider.

How to solve the problem of medical debt in the United States?

One way to solve the medical debt problem could be to enhance health insurance coverage for everyone through a single-payer healthcare system. Over the last few years, public support and opposition for a Medicare-for-all national health plan has remained fairly consistent. To protect Americans from receiving surprise medical bills from providers the federal government has introduced the No Surprises Act (NSA). Uninsured and self-pay patients are also protected under NSA from unforeseen expenses, as they now have the right to ask for a good faith estimate before receiving care. On an individual level, many people are unaware that they can negotiate with providers to lower their medical bills.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

Percentage of U.S. adults who never had medical debt: 40%

Leading source of medical debt: Lab fees or diagnostic tests

Share of adults who owed a past-due medical debt to a hospital: 27.9%

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Share of people who currently have or had in the past health care debt in the United States as March 2022, by characteristic

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Share of hardships and sacrifices people with health care debt have experienced when repaying debt in the United States as of 2023

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Types of hardships people with health care debt endured in the U.S. in 2023

Recommended statistics

Overview

Premium Statistic Share of aggregate total medical debt in the U.S. 2023, by amount owed
Share of aggregate total medical debt in the U.S. 2023, by amount owed
Share of aggregate total medical debt in the United States in 2023, by amount owed
Basic Statistic Percentage of U.S. adults with medical debt as of 2021
Percentage of U.S. adults with medical debt as of 2021
Percentage of adults in the United States with medical-related debt as of 2021
Basic Statistic Percentage of U.S. adults with medical debt as of 2021, by generation
Percentage of U.S. adults with medical debt as of 2021, by generation
Percentage of adults in the United States with medical debt as of 2021, by generation
Premium Statistic Sources of medical debt among U.S. adults as of 2022
Sources of medical debt among U.S. adults as of 2022
Percentage of adults in the United States with medical debt who stated their medical debt came from select sources as of 2022

Medical debt demography

Basic Statistic Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by gender
Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by gender
Percentage of adults in the United States who have medical debt in 2022, by gender
Premium Statistic Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by ethnicity
Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by ethnicity
Percentage of adults in the United States who have medical debt in 2022, by ethnicity
Basic Statistic Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by income
Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by income
Percentage of adults in the United States who have medical debt in 2022, by income
Premium Statistic Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by region
Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by region
Percentage of adults in the United States who have medical debt in 2022, by region
Premium Statistic People who currently have or had in the past health care debt in the U.S. in 2022
People who currently have or had in the past health care debt in the U.S. in 2022
Share of people who currently have or had in the past health care debt in the United States as March 2022, by characteristic
Premium Statistic People who currently have or had in the past health care debt in the U.S. 2022
People who currently have or had in the past health care debt in the U.S. 2022
Share who currently have or had in the past five years health care debt in the United States as of March 2022, by ethnicity

Medical debt and health coverage

Premium Statistic Medical debt owed by U.S. adults in 2023, by insurance type
Medical debt owed by U.S. adults in 2023, by insurance type
Percentage of U.S. adults that owed medical debt in 2023, by insurance type*
Premium Statistic Medical bill or debt problem among U.S. adults in 2022, by insurance coverage
Medical bill or debt problem among U.S. adults in 2022, by insurance coverage
Percentage of U.S. adults who had a medical bill or debt problem in 2022, by insurance coverage
Premium Statistic Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by insurance status
Share of adults in the United States who have medical debt 2022, by insurance status
Percentage of adults in the United States who have medical debt in 2022, by insurance status
Premium Statistic Medical debt owed by U.S. adults in 2022, by insurance coverage
Medical debt owed by U.S. adults in 2022, by insurance coverage
Percentage of U.S. adults that owed select amounts of medical debt in 2022, by insurance coverage

Medical debt hardships

Premium Statistic Share of healthcare debt-related barriers to accessing care in the U.S. in 2022
Share of healthcare debt-related barriers to accessing care in the U.S. in 2022
Share of adults with health care debt and health care debt-related barriers to accessing care in the U.S. in 2022
Basic Statistic U.S. adults concerned that a health event could lead to bankruptcy 2019-2020, by age
U.S. adults concerned that a health event could lead to bankruptcy 2019-2020, by age
Share of adults in the United States who were extremely concerned or concerned that a major health event in their household could lead to bankruptcy in 2019 and 2020, by age
Premium Statistic Types of hardships people with health care debt endured in the U.S. in 2023
Types of hardships people with health care debt endured in the U.S. in 2023
Share of hardships and sacrifices people with health care debt have experienced when repaying debt in the United States as of 2023
Basic Statistic Problem paying medical bills in select high-income countries 2020 by income
Problem paying medical bills in select high-income countries 2020 by income
Share of adults who had problems paying medical bills in past year among select high-income countries in 2020, by income level
Basic Statistic US knowledge of deaths due to inability to pay for medical treatment in 2019, by race
US knowledge of deaths due to inability to pay for medical treatment in 2019, by race
Knowledge of deaths due to inability to pay for medical treatment in the past five years in the U.S. as of 2019, by race
Basic Statistic Sacrifices in order to pay medical bills among U.S. workers with ESI in 2018
Sacrifices in order to pay medical bills among U.S. workers with ESI in 2018
Percentage of workers with employer-sponsored health insurance in the U.S. who reported select sacrifices or compensation strategies to pay health care costs as of 2018

Ability to repay medical debt

Premium Statistic Type of debts currently owed due to medical bills in the U.S. in 2022
Type of debts currently owed due to medical bills in the U.S. in 2022
Share of debts currently owed due to medical or dental bills in the U.S. as of March 2022
Premium Statistic Time expected to take to pay off medical debt in the U.S. in 2022, by ethnicity
Time expected to take to pay off medical debt in the U.S. in 2022, by ethnicity
When do you expect you will pay off your medical debt?
Basic Statistic Share of U.S. adults who had successfully negotiated their medical debt as of 2021
Share of U.S. adults who had successfully negotiated their medical debt as of 2021
Percentage of adults in the United States with medical debt who had successfully negotiated their medical debt as of 2021
Basic Statistic Share of U.S. adults unable to repay medical debt within the next year, 2020, by race
Share of U.S. adults unable to repay medical debt within the next year, 2020, by race
Share of U.S. adults who stated they or someone in their household currently had medical debt they will be unable to repay in the next 12 months as of 2020, by race
Basic Statistic U.S. adults unable to repay medical debt within the next year, 2020, by income
U.S. adults unable to repay medical debt within the next year, 2020, by income
Share of U.S. adults who stated they or someone in their household currently had medical debt they will be unable to repay in the next 12 months as of 2020, by income

Past-due medical debt

Premium Statistic Amount of past-due medical debt among adults in the U.S. in 2022, by source of debt
Amount of past-due medical debt among adults in the U.S. in 2022, by source of debt
Distribution of amount of past-due medical debt among adults in the U.S. as of June 2022, by source of debt
Premium Statistic Adults with past-due medical debt in the United States in 2022, by poverty level
Adults with past-due medical debt in the United States in 2022, by poverty level
Share of adults with past-due medical debt in the U.S. as of June 2022, by family income as a percentage of federal poverty level (FPL)
Premium Statistic Sources of past-due medical debt among adults in the U.S. in 2022
Sources of past-due medical debt among adults in the U.S. in 2022
Distribution of sources of past-due medical debt among American adults, as of June 2022
Premium Statistic Types of measures hospitals took to recover medical debt from American adults in 2022
Types of measures hospitals took to recover medical debt from American adults in 2022
Share of measures hospitals took to recover payment for past-due medical bills from adults in the U.S. in June 2022

Unexpected and unaffordable costs

Premium Statistic Type of health services that led to surprise bills in the U.S. in 2022
Type of health services that led to surprise bills in the U.S. in 2022
Share of U.S. Americans who have received a surprise medical bill since January 2022, by type of health service
Basic Statistic Share of US adults who received surprise medical bill since January 2022, by gender
Share of US adults who received surprise medical bill since January 2022, by gender
Percentage of U.S. Americans who have received a surprise or unexpected medical bills since January 2022, by gender
Basic Statistic U.S. adults who have received surprise medical bill since January 2022, by age
U.S. adults who have received surprise medical bill since January 2022, by age
Share of U.S. American adults who have received a surprise or unexpected medical bills since January 2022, by age
Premium Statistic Share of Americans received a surprise medical bill in U.S. 2022, by ethnicity
Share of Americans received a surprise medical bill in U.S. 2022, by ethnicity
Percentage of U.S. Americans who received a surprise out-of-network medical bill since January 2022, by ethnicity
Basic Statistic Share of US adults who received out-of-network surprise medical bill 2022, by income
Share of US adults who received out-of-network surprise medical bill 2022, by income
Percentage of U.S. Americans who have received a surprise out-of-network medical bill since January 2022, by family income

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Key figures

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