A new report details the devastation medical debt causes Illinois families — particularly immigrant and Black communities — causing stress that has hurt their health and depleted their savings. The study aims to fuel support for a proposed state law the authors of the report tout as a win-win for both uninsured patients and the hospitals that treat them.
The report from the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Legal Council for Health Justice and Community Catalyst describes multiple instances in which patients racked up big bills and the emotional toll that takes because they didn’t know hospitals could have offered them financial assistance. Mandating the screening of patients and identifying those who could benefit from financial help could help alleviate the problem, the authors found.
