Medical debt

medicine encyclopedia----Medical debt

medical encyclopedia

Medical debt

Medical debt refers to debt incurred due to health care costs and expenses.

Many people accumulate medical debt when they do not have health insurance to cover the costs of necessary medications, treatments, or procedures. Individuals who have health insurance, however, are not immune to medical debt. Health insurance plans rarely cover any and all health-related expenses; for insured people, the gap between insurance coverage and the affordability of health care manifests as medical debt.

As with any type of debt, medical debt can lead to an array of personal and financial problems. Medical debt is different from other forms of debt, however, because it is usually incurred accidentally or faultlessly; people do not plan to fall ill or hurt themselves, and health care remedies are often unavoidable. It has been suggested that uninsured people or minimally insured people should not seek medical attention as the cost of treatment and the associated financial hardships will lower their quality of life more than simply suffering through their affliction. This is especially true for minorities and immigrants who are accustomed to a poor standard of living and lack of physical comforts.

Medical debt is often masked by other forms of debt including credit card debt.