MADISON, Wis. – Credit unions looking for information and tools to help members with medical debt now have an added aid, a Medical Debt Toolkit that has been released by the National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation).
In releasing the Kit, the Foundation pointed to a 2012 health insurance survey by the Commonwealth Fund, that found 75 million people, or 41%, of working age adults experienced medical bill problems. The same survey found that 48 million, or 26%, of working age adults had a medical debt or were paying off a medical bill over time, the Foundation said.
“Part of improving people’s financial lives is to meet them where they are in life,” notes Gigi Hyland, the Foundation’s Executive Director. “Medical debt is a widespread problem that can create havoc with people’s financial lives. Often, members with medical debt are also experiencing broader financial problems and need assistance not only to address their medical debt issues but also need help with other aspects of their finances.”
The Foundation’s Mark Lynch notes in the toolkit’s introduction, “Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. Yet medical debt tends to be talked about much less than credit card debt, mortgage debt and student loan debt.”
The foundation said the new Medical Debt Toolkit has assembled information from a range of sources and provides credit union staff with a framework to identify medical debt issues and help members resolve their medical debt. It also provides information on how staff can help members quickly reduce or at least limit some medical bills.
The toolkit is available to credit unions free of charge at ncuf.coop.
In addition, related to the new toolkit, the Foundation is holding a webinar in partnership with CUNA CPD on June 14, 2015 entitled “Counseling members with medical debt.” More information on the webinar is here.