Americans owe $220 billion in medical debt, according to a federal survey. It’s one reason health care and affordability are key issues in the upcoming midterm elections and top of mind for people like Brittany Gurney.
In September of 2020, her 14-month-old son Jaxon was rushed to the hospital with a bowel obstruction that required nine surgeries in three months and a lengthy stay in the hospital.
“To this day, the surgeon has no idea why it happened,” said Gurney, a divorced mother of two from Mesa, Arizona.
The medical emergency came as a surprise, and Gurney knew the ordeal would be expensive, even with health insurance. Her portion of the $2 million hospital bill came out to $15,000.
“I can’t do that,” Gurney recalled…