/ Modified jun 17, 2022 11:50 a.m.

Study says Arizona isn't doing enough to protect consumers from high medical debt

It calls for policy changes to address the issue.

360 hospital trauma File image of equipment in a trauma room at a hospital in Tucson.
AZPM Staff

A study by the University of Arizona and the University of Utah found that Arizona isn’t doing enough to protect consumers from high medical debt.

It also called for the state legislature to adopt policy changes to fix it.

Gabriela Elizondo-Craig is a University of Arizona postgraduate fellow who worked on the study, and she said most people with high medical debt can’t afford a lawyer, and the state should work harder to protect them.

"All the policies we looked at are things that the state legislature can implement, if they so choose," she said. "So this would require a bill that would protect consumers in that way."

Arizona scored points in expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act, limiting surprise billing and garnishments to household income and requiring providers to establish billing disputes.

Arizona ranked 32 among U.S. states and was placed in the lowest category. Only three states were placed in the highest—California, Maryland and Maine. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said one in five American households has medical debt.

MORE: Economy, News
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona