mediCal debt to be erased

Some medical debt is being removed from U.S. credit reports

Also, unpaid medical debt under at least $500 will not be reported

Tom Murphy – The Associated Press

Starting last Friday, the three major U.S. credit reporting companies will stop counting paid medical debt on the reports that banks, potential landlords and others use to judge creditworthiness. The companies also will start giving people a year to resolve delinquent medical debt that has been sent to collections before reporting it — up from six months previously.

Next year, the companies also will stop counting unpaid medical debt under at least $500.

The companies say these moves will wipe out nearly 70% of the medical debt listed on consumer credit reports.

Patient advocates call that a huge advance. But they question whether medical debt should be on credit reports at all, given that many see it as a poor indicator of whether someone is trustworthy for a loan or rent.

“These aren’t people who bought shoes they couldn’t afford,” said Amanda Dunker, of the nonprofit Community Service Society of New York. “They went to a doctor because they were sick or needed help with an injury.” Brooke Davis had about $1,300 in medical debt from a breast cancer scare that lingered for years on her credit report. The 48-year-old McDonough, Georgia, resident said that made it difficult to rent an apartment, and she needed a co-signer for a car loan.

“You can’t get anything, you can’t even get a credit card if you have bad credit,” she said. The non-profit RIP Medical Debt relieved Davis’s debt last fall. But more health problems and the loss of a job have pushed Davis back into debt. She’s currently stuck with a swollen knee for which she can’t see her doctor. “I don’t have the money to really go for my knee right now, so I’ve just been suffering with it,” she said. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said its research shows mortgages and credit cards are better predictors than medical bills of whether someone will repay a debt. The agency, which monitors banks, lenders and other financial institutions, has noted that people often don’t have time to shop for the best price when they

In fact, seek care and may have little control over the progress of a serious illness. The agency said earlier this The companies say year it estimates that 58% of these moves will the debt in collections and on wipe out nearly 70% credit records is from medical of the medical debt bills, and past-due medical debt listed on consumer is more prevalent among Black credit reports. and Hispanic people. The bureau is trying to determine whether unpaid medical bills should be included on credit reports. John McNamara, an assistant director with the bureau, declined to estimate when the agency might make a decision. After hearing from all sides on the issue, it could propose a rule that would end the practice. Credit reporting companies also are considering whether medical debt should remain on the reports, said Justin Hakes, a vice president with the Consumer Data Industry Association. The three national credit reporting agencies —

These aren’t people who bought shoes they couldn’t afford. They went to a doctor because they were sick or needed help with an injury.

Amanda Dunker, the Community Service Society of New York.

Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — announced the medical debt changes in March, after the bureau said it would hold those companies accountable for the accuracy of their reports.

Patient advocates said those changes will help a lot of people.

The wait in reporting delinquent debt will give patients time to figure out how to resolve a bill, noted Chi Chi Wu, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. “It gives more breathing room to deal with the insurance company or your provider,” Wu said. “Everybody has a story about that.”

Medical billing errors can wind up on credit reports. And patients are sometimes unsure about what they owe or whether an insurer will eventually pay it.

Entrepreneurial at Any Age

Seniors get support to develop their own businesses

Zoe Landi Fontana, The Weekly Journal

Maripaz Rodríguez is a 63 year old San Juan resident, retired, but with more than 25 years of experience in designing distance learning courses. For many years, she had pushed aside the notion that she could pursue her own business. After all, Rodríguez already had a job that kept her occupied from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. everyday.

Three years after her retirement, however, her son inspired her to remember that dream. With decades of experience, guided by love, and through participating in the StepUp business training program, Rodríguez not only pursued her dream, but also manifested it. Her business, Ascender, offers online courses giving guidance to families with autistic children – an experience close to Rodríguez’s heart.

Ascender, which includes downloadable courses, audiobooks, and online forums to support parents, caregivers, and therapists working with those with severe autism, is just one of 18 businesses incubated and launched by the Step-Up business training program.

Step-Up is a program developed for people over 60 to launch business ideas from conceptualization to implementation. The program was designed by Ana G. Mendez University (UAGM, for its Spanish acronym) and supported by the MCS Foundation, whose mission is to promote education and economic development. Almost two years in the making, these 18 new entrepreneurs took to the streets this past June after successfully completing the program.

“Our desire is to launch this challenge, and that more people over 60 dare to accept it, showing the world and themselves that it’s never too late to venture into the business world,” said Elba Rivera, Executive Director of the MCS Foundation. The projects are divided into five phases. The first phase works with the motivational aspect of starting a business. Participants attend lectures and conferences, learning how they can do business with limited resources. Then, they investigate the cost-effectiveness of their ideas. Once the business plan is drafted, it is revised. They explore alternative sources of financing and support and identify the different opportunities and resources that exist in Puerto Rico. The fourth step is to create and promote a brand image. This phase teaches the participants how to use social networks to market their product or service as well. Finally, these entrepreneurs formally pitch and present their business. It’s a very practical program that focuses on the real world more than on business theory.

Programs like these also play into MCS Foundation’s commitment to improve the social determinants of health within the elderly

In fact, community. The six determinants, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, are as follows: Neighborhood and built environment, Step-Up is a social and community context, economic stability, program developed education access and quality, and healthcare for people over access and quality.60 to launch The Step-Up business training program business ideas from promotes social and community connections, conceptualization to provides education, and gives participants a little implementation. more economic stability by showing them how to support themselves with the experience and skills they’ve been developing throughout their lives. A group of entrepreneurs including Carmen Hernández Arcay, Carmen T. López Santiago. Daisy Treviño Otero, Damary Pagan Cabrera, Elsa Robles Hernández, and Erwin Crespo Bermúdez, among many others, also participate in the program, presenting businesses as diverse as providing technology services to elderly people, to an atelier crafting Afro-Caribbean clothes and accessories.

Our desire is to launch this challenge, and that more people over 60 dare to accept it, showing the world and themselves that it’s never too late to venture into the business world.

Elba Rivera, Executive Director MCS Foundation.