1 in 10 LA County adults struggle with medical debt, report shows

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Brizeida Morales said she wonders what she'll have to pay for her maternal healthcare visits.

"I am stressed. I can't sleep thinking about whether I have to cover those costs. 'What's going to happen? What am I going to do?' "

It's sad and complicated that simply trying to stay healthy can land one in debt, she told Eyewitness News in Spanish.

As Morales and her family try to avoid medical debt, a new Los Angeles County Department of Public Health study shows that it's a reality for about 10% of L.A. County adults.

"That's medical debt that's interfering with their lives that they're having trouble paying," said Dr. Naman Shah, the director of the division of Medical and Dental Affairs at the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

Shah was one of the lead authors of the study, and he said the number of people with medical debt in the county is larger than the number who suffer from asthma and similar to the number with diabetes.

"People with medical debt are more likely to be food insecure, more likely to be housing insecure, even though they accrued this debt because they were sick and they sought health care. It's now making them sicker," Shah said.

'A full spectrum problem'

The uninsured are the most likely to have medical debt, but having health insurance doesn't always help.

"In reality it's a full spectrum problem," said Bernadette Manigault, a supervising attorney for Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County's Health Consumer Center.

NLSLA's Health Consumer Center is a hotline serving all Los Angeles county residents who need assistance with healthcare-related legal issues.

"You can have full-scope Medi-Cal, you can have private PPO insurance through your employer, and you can still end up in the same spot with that medical bill," Manigault said.

Some people of color are also more likely to be burdened with medical debt, with Native American, Alaskan, Hawaiian Pacific Islander and multiracial adults experiencing the highest rates of medical debt, followed by Latino and Black Angelenos.

Though the report has highlighted troubling problems, it also resulted in new recommendations to help reduce medical debt in the county.

The recommendations include:

Both Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County and another organization, Rising Communities (formerly known as Community Health Councils), are a part of this coalition.

"This coalition will really allow us to put some pressure in the right places," said Veronica Flores, the chief executive officer for Rising Communities.

Rising Communities focuses on research, policy and advocacy in South LA. They are helping Brizeida Morales as she tries to apply for Medi-Cal.

Flores said the coalition formed by the county is exciting because no one organization can make changes to the medical system like this by themselves.

Burdened by medical debt? Here's what you can do

The biggest piece of advice Flores had for those experiencing medical debt was to know your rights.

Manigault, from NLSLA echoed the advice.

"Educating yourself, educating your loved ones. That's always going to be a great start. Asking questions, pushing back. If you get a bill that doesn't look right to you, it is completely within your rights to contact that provider, contact their billing department and see what happened," she said.

Manigault's other piece of advice: reach out to organizations like NLSLA and Rising Communities early and often.

"As soon as you get that bill that looks off, contact us. As soon as you're getting...contacted by debt collectors contact us. If you're already in the lawsuit, contact us. And if it already seems like you've lost the case, contact us," she said.

"There is support in the community. You just have to reach out for it," Manigault said.