CARE WITHOUT BARRIERS
Accessing necessary medical care should not come at the cost of financial security. Care Without Barriers helps patients understand their rights and take action against medical debt and unfair billing practices that place additional burdens on those already navigating chronic illness.
UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIERS
Medical Debt and Aggressive Collection Practices
For patients living with chronic illness, medical expenses are often ongoing rather than isolated. Even with insurance, the cost of repeated treatments can accumulate into substantial debt, particularly for patients whose conditions affect their ability to work. Unpaid bills may eventually lead to collection proceedings or legal action, placing further financial strain on patients and sometimes discouraging them from seeking necessary care.
Barriers to Hospital Financial Assistance
Many nonprofit hospitals are required to offer financial assistance to eligible patients, yet these programs are not always easy to access. Information may be difficult to locate, and complicated applications can make obtaining assistance especially burdensome for patients already managing chronic conditions. Consequently, patients may accumulate debt without realizing they qualify for free or discounted care.
Billing Transparency and Patient Protections
Medical bills can be difficult to interpret, particularly when patients receive separate charges from multiple providers for the same episode of care. Complex insurance adjustments and billing errors can make it challenging to determine what patients actually owe. Without clear billing information or accessible dispute procedures, patients may find themselves responsible for incorrect charges or facing collection efforts while attempting to resolve them.
Medical Debt by the Numbers:
$220B+
In medical debt owed across the United States.
Source: KFF, 2024
32%
Of privately insured working-age adults are paying off medical bills or debt.
Source: Commonwealth Fund, 2026
40%
30%
Of privately insured adults with medical debt said it resulted from care for an ongoing condition.
Source: Commonwealth Fund, 2026
Of privately insured adults with unpaid medical bills delayed or avoided necessary care.
Source: Commonwealth Fund, 2026
CHALLENGE UNFAIR BILLS:
Patients have the right to request information about their charges and can dispute billing errors. Certain federal and state protections may also apply to unexpected medical expenses.
Legislation for Care Without Barriers
Patient Debt Relief Act — H.R. 7478
This bill proposes establishing financial assistance and medical debt collection standards for hospitals participating in Medicare. It would also establish a federal grant program supporting medical debt relief. Its scope extends beyond the existing financial assistance obligations of tax-exempt hospitals.
Read the proposal and contact your representative about whether hospitals should face stronger requirements before pursuing medical debt collection.
Medical Debt Relief Act of 2025 — S. 2519 / H.R. 4827
These companion bills propose amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit medical debt information from appearing on consumer credit reports. The proposed change would address the credit-reporting consequences of medical debt, but would not itself cancel the underlying bills.
Share experiences with medical debt appearing on credit reports and communicate your views on the proposed reporting restrictions.
Hospital Medical Debt Relief Act — New York S. 1857 / A. 3580
This state proposal would establish a three-year pilot program to acquire and cancel qualifying hospital medical debt for eligible New York residents. It offers a different approach to reform, addressing existing debt rather than focusing solely on future billing or collection practices.
New York residents can review the proposal and contact their state legislators about the eligibility requirements and proposed debt relief program.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:
SHARE YOUR MEDICAL DEBT STORY
Through Care Without Barriers, Chronically Me is collecting patient experiences to better understand how medical debt affects individuals living with chronic illness and inform our ongoing advocacy efforts.
By sharing your story, you can help bring attention to the policies and institutional practices that deserve greater scrutiny.