Discharged Into Debt: Medical Debt and Racial Disparities in Albany County

Policy Brief | Mar. 2021

Discharged Into Debt: Medical Debt and Racial Disparities in Albany County

Amanda Dunker, Elisabeth Ryden Benjamin

Summary:

This brief examines the medical debt crisis in Albany County. Not only do 12 percent of Albany residents have delinquent medical debt on their credit reports, but there are profound racial disparities related to who is in debt. While 10 percent of white residents have medical debt, two and half times—or 26 percent—of residents of color have medical debt in Albany.

Compounding the problem, Albany County is a New York State medical debt litigation hotspot. Between 2015 and 2020, five nonprofit charitable hospitals sued 2,900 Albany residents.2 Not even the once-in-a-century pandemic proved to be a deterrent.

Issues: Access to Health Care

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