But then there's all this interest." With poor credit, Atencio relied at times on payday lenders, whose high interest rates can dramatically increase what borrowers owe. Then you take out loans to try to pay off some of the debt. But getting out from the debt was agonizing. "If it wasn't for her, we would have been homeless," he said. They were ultimately taken in by Atencio's mother-in-law. "I remember thinking, 'What kind of a start to my adult life is this?'" Atencio got married at 18, but he and his husband rarely had enough to make ends meet. Atencio's relationship with his parents, who divorced when he was 2, had been strained for years. When Atencio's credit score dipped close to 300, the lowest rating, there were few places to turn for help. "We've pulled ourselves out of this," he said. Sitting on an aging couch in an apartment with bars on the windows, he's philosophical about his long journey from that medical crisis through years of debt and housing insecurity. Shots - Health News 'Medical cost-sharing' plan left this pastor on the hook for much of a $160,000 billĪtencio, who is transgender, has close-cropped dark hair and a large tattoo on his right forearm memorializing two friends who died in a car accident. More broadly, people with medical debt are more likely to say the debt has caused them to be turned down for a rental or a mortgage than people with student loans or credit card debt, according to a 2019 nationwide survey of renters, home buyers, and property owners by real estate company Zillow. And those with such debt tended to experience homelessness two years longer than encampment residents without it. In Seattle, researchers found widespread medical debt among residents in homeless encampments. "The elderly are terrified," she said.įor others, such debt can compound financial struggles brought on by an accident or unexpected illness that forces them to stop working, jeopardizing their health coverage or ability to pay for housing. Many hospitals and other providers will turn away patients with outstanding bills, KFF Health News found.ĭenise Beasley, who also assists clients at CEDP in Denver, said many older people, who typically depend most on physicians and medications, believe they must pay their medical and pharmacy bills before anything else. Patients with chronic medical conditions may fall behind on rent or home payments as they scramble to keep medical debts in check to preserve access to health care. consumers with a credit report had a medical debt listed on it, according to the nonprofit Urban Institute. For some, it depresses credit scores, making it difficult to get a lease or a mortgage. Medical debt can undermine housing security in several ways. "Nobody likes the elephant in the room, but the reality is that there are thousands of sick Americans who are likely homeless - and sick - because of medical debt." A downward spiral Shots - Health News Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief "It always felt like I just couldn't get a leg up," he said, recalling a life of dead-end jobs and high-interest loans as he tried to stay ahead of debt collectors. The debts from his care devastated his credit score. A big reason, he said, was medical debt.Ītencio had a heart attack at 19, triggered by an undiagnosed congenital condition. Atencio and his children for years slept on friends' couches or stayed with family, unable to rent an apartment because of poor credit. "It could have been me," said Atencio, 30, who lives in a small apartment with his son and daughter not far from the shelter. "It always felt like I just couldn't get a leg up," says Atencio, one of millions of Americans whose access to housing is threatened by medical debt.ĭENVER - Kayce Atencio used to be haunted by a thought while working at a homeless shelter in downtown Denver. Kayce Atencio, who had a heart attack when he was 19, was unable to rent an apartment for years because of bad credit attributed in part to thousands of dollars of medical debt.
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