Medical debt harms people in different ways. It can lead them to seek payday loans, take money out of their retirement accounts, or delay medical care.
For people who give birth, financial worries can affect major decisions about what their family ultimately looks like.
A Penn State study of 2,169 first-time Pennsylvania moms with private insurance found 8.3% had childbirth bills sent to collections. These women were less likely to have a second child in the following two years compared to those who didn’t have debt in collections, it found.
“I have patients all the time who will tell me, ‘I had no idea. I have insurance. I have good insurance,’” Sarah Horvath, an OB-GYN who practices in central Pennsylvania, said of surprise…
