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id you know that medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States? That is 2016, one in six of us had past-due medical bills- something that resulted in a debt of $81 million. And just last year, medical expenses were the most significant contributing factor that pushed people into poverty. Unfortunately, the national medical debt crisis is not distributed equally. In America, a third of black adults have past-due medical debt. White adults, on the other hand, have only a quarter of them with past-due medical debt. Thirty-one percent of people of color in California have some type of past-due debt in collection, compared to 19 percent among white residents. According to a report by Brianna Wells on racial inequality and medical debt, medical debt is both a symptom and a cause of the racial wealth gap. For years, systemic racism has been at the forefront of causing racial inequalities in income and wealth, denying people of color channels of attaining wealth such as homeownership. In her report, Brianna Wells says that nearly 40 percent of adults with medical debt have been denied the opportunity to secure a mortgage loan. Wealth and income, however small, helps to cushion families against costly medical expenses, but for people of color, these medical expenses only exacerbate these racial wealth disparities. And on top of that, these medical debts create conditions of economic insecurity that result in poor health outcomes and premature death for people of color. As Brianna puts it, medical debts are a social determinant of health. Depressive
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IT’S TIME TO END THE RACIALLY UNJUST MEDICAL DEBT CRISIS THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2021
