Protect Michiganders from Insurmountable Medical Debt

More than 700,000 people across Michigan are burdened with medical debt. In the Great Lakes region, less than a third of households have savings that could cover three months of basic expenses. For these families, a car crash or unexpected medical bill can trap them in a debt cycle that threatens their financial stability and physical health.

Last November, a bipartisan group of Michigan legislators began working to address this crisis by introducing a set of bills that would:

• Cap interest or late fees at 3% of the medical debt per year.
• Give people with medical bills 90 days before the bills start to gain interest.
• Stop creditors from causing a person’s arrest, foreclosing on their property, or garnishing their wages if they are low-income and enrolled in a hospital assistance plan.

Health care costs are consistently the number one cause of household bankruptcy in the United States. The threat of significant debt discourages many people from seeking essential health services and can cause financial ruin for those who require emergency care but can’t pay. Join us in telling our legislators to protect Michiganders’ health and financial stability by reigning in medical debt!