Untangling the Historical Threads of Medical Debt

While more than 90% of the US population is covered by some form of health insurance, medical debt remains a persistent problem. For families with limited wealth, even a small unexpected medical expense can quickly become financially overwhelming. The evolution of medical debt into a multibillion-dollar industry raises critical questions: When and why did this transformation occur, and how has it impacted the once sacred clinician-patient relationship?

This conversation will transcend the immediate financial strain that medical debt imposes on families, delving into historical perspectives, examining aggressive debt collection tactics, and exploring medical debt’s impact on the erosion of trust within the healthcare system.