More than 40% of American adults have medical debt, and almost 60% of those with hospital medical debt had health insurance. Its tempting for policymakers and private entities to provide medical debt relief. Has medical debt relief actually helped individuals who received it?
To answer this question, four economists from Harvard, Stanford, the University of Munich, and UCLA conducted randomized experiments involving 83,401 individuals. They found no improvements in financial well-being or mental health from medical debt relief, reduced repayment of medical bills, and if anything, a perverse worsening of mental health.
These results came as a negative surprise to many. As reported by The New York Times, the authors expressed disappoint…
Read the full article at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gebai/2024/04/15/the-inconvenient-truth-about-medical-debt-relief/