“In 2012, Terry Belk’s beloved wife, Sandra, died after a years-long battle with breast cancer. The car salesman in Charlotte, North Carolina, had quit work to take care of his wife, and the bills for her treatment were more than he could pay, even with health insurance. Adding to his burden, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that year, generating additional bills for his own treatment,” Gretchen Morgenson writes over at NBC News. “Atrium Health, the nonprofit hospital treating the Belks, pursued them aggressively for their debts. Without fully understanding the consequences, Belk said, he agreed to what’s known as a deed of trust under which the hospital will receive roughly $23,000 when he sells his home, an amount that will cover outstanding amounts owed for his wife’s treatments. ‘We weren’t trying to abscond from the bills,’ he said. ‘I wanted to pay but I couldn’t.’ It didn’t end there. In 2022, the hospital sued Belk for the roughly $6,000 he still owed for prostate cancer care. Belk said he knew he couldn’t win in court so he agreed to pay off the debt, which has grown to around $8,000 with interest. Belk said he is paying $100 a month to whittle it down and keep bill collectors away. ‘I’ve been battling this for over 20 years,’ Belk, 68, said of his medical debt. ‘This has been like an albatross around my neck, like an anvil I’m dragging around every day.’ Americans owe at least $220 billion in medical debt, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization. The top three states for medical debt are South Dakota, where 18% of the population is affected, followed by Mississippi at 15% and Belk’s home state of North Carolina at 13%, KFF says. The burden of medical debt has contributed to financial anxiety among voters and has become an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.” Gretchen Morgenson, “‘Making peoples’ lives hell’: When he couldn’t pay for cancer treatment, the hospital sued,” NBC News.
