RALEIGH, N.C. — When Erin Williams-Reavis faced a $3,500 surgery bill, the hospital offered to let her pay in $300 monthly installments. It was too much, said Williams-Reavis, 44, who lives in Greensboro, about an hour west of the state capital. Her hours as a personal assistant had been cut, and she and her husband were behind on bills, even requesting a forbearance on their mortgage.
In Charlotte, Patrick Oliver was stunned to receive a nearly $30,000 bill after a trip to the emergency room for numbness and burning in his hands and feet. When Oliver, 66, and his wife, Mary, couldn’t pay, the hospital sued them. The couple feared they’d lose their home.
In Asheville, Emmaleigh Argonauta’s $25.72 medical bill was sent to collections. She said that she’d paid the bill but that the hospital system hadn’t recorded it. It took Argonauta eight months, a slew of calls and emails, and a full day at the billing office to resolve the debt.
Now, they’re all waiting to see whether North Carolina’s lawmakers will make good on a bill that its sponsors say will “de-weaponize medical debt.”
About 100 million people in the U.S. — 41% of adults — have some form of health care debt, according to a KFF poll conducted for a new KHN-NPR investigation. The problem is driving millions of people into bankruptcy, depleting savings and retirement accounts, and leaving black marks on cr …