medical bankruptcy

Jeff and Kareen King received a hospital bill for $160,000 a few weeks after Jeff had a procedure to restore his heart rhythm.

A 'medical cost-sharing' plan left this minister to pay most of his $160,000 bill

9:56am January 09, 2023

by Bram Sable-Smith

Instead of health insurance, the Rev. Jeff King had signed up for an alternative that left members of the plan to share the costs of health care. That meant lower premiums, but a huge hospital bill.

Many hospitals are now partnering with financing companies to offer payment plans when patients and their families can't afford their bills. The catch: the plans can come with interest that significantly increases a patient's debt.

How banks and hospitals are cashing in when patients can't pay for health care

5:00am November 17, 2022

Some credit cards advertised by hospitals lure in patients with rosy promises of convenient, low-interest payments on big bills. But interest rates soar if you can't quickly pay off the loan.

Penelope Wingard of Charlotte, N.C., has survived breast cancer, a brain aneurysm and surgery on both eyes. For the past eight years, she's also been battling tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

Medical debt ruined her credit. 'It's like you're being punished for being sick'

5:00am October 06, 2022

by Aneri Pattani

New policies to keep medical bills from sinking credit ratings sound good but will likely fall short for many hit hardest by debt — especially Black Americans in the South, such as Penelope Wingard.

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Bennett Markow looks to his big brother, Eli (right), during a family visit at UC Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento. Bennett was born four months early, in November 2020.

The heartbreak and cost of losing a baby in America

9:50am September 22, 2022

by Lauren Weber

Even after their babies died, hospital bills kept coming. These parents of fragile, very sick infants faced exorbitant bills — though they had insurance. "The process was just so heartless," one says.

Jeni Rae Peters and daughter embrace at their home in Rapid City, S.D. In 2020, Peters was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After treatment, Peters estimates that her medical bills exceeded $30,000.

She was already battling cancer. Then she had to fight the bill collectors

5:00am July 09, 2022

by Noam Levey

For one South Dakota mom, cancer treatment saved her life, but left her $30,000 in debt. The cost of care in the U.S. can make patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes.