(The Center Square) — Georgia ranked ninth for residents struggling to pay off medical debt.
According to a new report from HelpAdvisor.com, more than one in six Georgians (17.3%) with a credit report have medical debt in collections.
It also revealed seven Georgia counties ranked among the 50 counties with the highest rates of medical debt in collections. Peach State counties on the list are Baker (39.2%), Ben Hill (36.7%), Wilcox (35.8%), Brooks (35%), Dooly (34.1%), Turner (33.3%) and Cook (33%)
“Too many Georgians struggle to access quality healthcare they can afford. We want to put an end to a healthcare system dominated by corporate interests that puts profit over people, deepening inequity across our state,” Georgia Watch Executive Director Liz Coyle said in a release last week.
Coyle joined Community Catalyst in Washington for its Medical Debt Day of Action, urging politicians to address the “medical debt crisis.”
Nationally, West Virginia topped the list, edging out South Carolina, Oklahoma and North Carolina. According to the analysis, at least a quarter of residents in 356 counties nationwide have medical debt in collections.
Roughly one in six (15.4%) Americans with a credit report had medical debt in collections as of February 2022, the most recent data available. In some areas of the country, the rate of those with medical debt in collections topped 40%.
