States confront medical debt that’s bankrupting millions

DENVER (AP) — Lawmakers in over a dozen states and the U.S. Congress are tackling medical debt, which has become a leading cause of personal bankruptcy. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports an estimated 100 million Americans have amassed nearly $200 billion in collective medical debt — almost the size of Greece’s economy. The financial burden has pushed millions of Americans into financial uncertainty. The flurry of bills — in states including Colorado, New York and Florida — would create medical debt relief programs, protect certain personal property from collections, lower interest rates or keep medical debt from tanking credit scores.