Collections are considerable uphill battle for both providers and consumers. A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report quantified just how large of an issue medical debt has become in the United States, according to a report by The Kansas City Star.
1. The report found that 42.9 million Americans have unpaid medical debt. This accounts for nearly 20 percent of consumers with credit records, according to the Kansas City Star report.
2. The average amount of medical debt is $1,766. But, a person who owes more than unpaid medical bills has an average debt of $5,638, according to the Kansas City Star report.
3. The report puts a spotlight on just how damaging medical debt can be to consumer credit scores. An unpaid bill of just $100 can cause a credit score of 780 to tumble by more than 100 points, according to the Kansas City Star report.
Click here to read the full Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report.