Should the US forgive medical debt? Americans sound off in recent poll
Dana Downey of Pennsylvania speaks at a roundtable on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Health advocates and community members gathered in Washington D.C. to push the Biden administration to take additional action on medical debt
A recent poll found that most Americans are in favor of forgiving all or some of an individual’s medical debt if the person is facing hardships.
The poll was conducted by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
About half of Americans say it’s extremely or very important for the U.S. government to provide debt relief for those who have yet to pay off medical treatments.
RELATED: CDC: Adderall shortage may worsen after health execs charged with fraud
Some cities like New York City, New Orleans and Chicago — are implementing their own versions of medical debt forgiveness. The Biden administration recently announced a proposed rule that would wipe consumer medical debt off most credit reports.
Medical challenges faced by Black women
February is Black History Month. According to the CDC, Black women are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, lupus, and several cancers. They also experience maternal mortality at a higher rate than any other group. LiveNOW from FOX | Raw & unfiltered news
The poll found that support for medical debt forgiveness is particularly high in cases where a patient experienced health care fraud. About two-thirds of U.S. adults support medical debt forgiveness if the individual has, for example, been wrongfully billed for services. But majorities of Americans favor relief in other situations, too, such as when the patient has made on-time payments toward an existing loan for 20 years, has large amounts of medical debt compared to their income, or is experiencing financial hardship.
About 6 in 10 people with debt from medical bills favor medical debt forgiveness if the person has large amounts of debt compared to their income, compared to about half of people without medical debt.
Although reducing student loan debt has been a focus for President Joe Biden, the poll found that Americans are more likely to say medical debt relief should be a government priority. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults said that it’s extremely or very important for the U.S. government to provide student debt relief.
RELATED: Hospital urges snakebite victims to refrain from bringing in serpents
Overall, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are all similarly likely to support clearing medical debt if the person experienced fraud, the AP-NORC poll found, though Democrats are more supportive than Republicans in cases where the person is experiencing financial hardship or if the person has large amounts of medical debt compared to their income.
Medical debt forgiveness is also a higher priority for Democrats. According to the poll, about two-thirds of Democrats say it's extremely or very important for the U.S. government to provide medical debt relief, compared to about 3 in 10 Republicans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.