What percentage of Americans owe medical bills?

Healthcare costs and insurance premiums have increased under President Trump, driven by federal budget legislation, expired subsidies, and general market inflation.

Rising Costs and Policy Impacts

• Budget Cuts: According to reports by Families USA, a federal budget bill cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and restricted eligibility, which increased the uninsured rate and shifted uncompensated care costs.
• Expired Subsidies: Enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits expired without a congressional extension, causing net marketplace premiums to spike for many consumers.
• Family Expenses: The Center for American Progress states that administration policies, higher deductibles, and tariff impacts have added financial pressure to household healthcare budgets.

Administration Actions on Transparency

• Price Transparency: According to PBS News, the Trump administration has warned hundreds of hospitals to disclose pricing data or face fines, aiming to use market competition to lower costs over time.
• Affordability Proposals: The White House introduced the "Great Healthcare Plan" framework to target pharmacy benefit managers, expand over-the-counter drug options, and promote lower prescription pricing.

Yes, it is very common for people to struggle with or fail to pay medical bills. About one in five U.S. adults report having problems paying or being unable to pay medical bills in a given year.

Statistics on Unpaid Medical Bills

• High Prevalence: Millions of Americans carry past-due medical debt, with studies from groups like KFF showing that roughly 22% of adults face problems paying healthcare costs.
• Hospital Bills: Industry estimates and analyses indicate that a massive portion of overall hospital revenue from patient balances goes uncollected or delayed indefinitely.
• Demographics Affected: Unpaid bills and medical debt are most common among uninsured individuals, lower-income households, women, younger adults, and people with chronic health conditions.

Why People Do Not Pay

• High Costs and Deductibles: Rising out-of-pocket costs, high deductibles, and underinsurance mean people are billed thousands of dollars they simply do not have.
• Confusing Billing: Pricing opacity and unexpected out-of-network charges often lead to bills patients dispute or cannot decipher.
• Sacrifices: Many people must choose between paying for basic necessities like food and housing versus paying off health care providers.

What Happens When Bills Go Unpaid

• Collections: If a bill remains unpaid for 60 to 120 days, providers often send the debt to a third-party collection agency.
• Credit Impact: While major credit bureaus have stopped reporting paid medical collections, under-$500 debts, or debts less than a year old, larger unpaid debts can still eventually hit credit reports and affect financial standing.
• Access to Care: Emergency rooms cannot legally turn you away, but non-emergency medical providers and specific hospital systems may refuse routine check-ups or non-urgent care if you carry a large unpaid balance with them.
• Assistance Options: Many hospitals offer Charity Care / Financial Assistance that can completely forgive or reduce bills for qualifying low-to-moderate-income patients, though it requires active application or screening.

An 800 credit score is uncommon but not rare, with approximately 23% of U.S. consumers holding a FICO score of 800 or higher.

Credit Score Breakdown

• Exceptional (800–850): 23% of consumers
• Very Good (740–799): 27.4% of consumers
• Good (670–739): 19.8% of consumers
• Fair (580–669): 15.1% of consumers

Key Facts About 800+ Scores

• Demographics: Stellar credit increases with age; more than 1 in 3 baby boomers reach 800+, compared to only 1 in 25 Gen Zers.
• Perfection: While an 800 score is held by nearly a quarter of people, a truly perfect score of 850 is much rarer, held by just 1.7% of consumers.
• Habits: Consumers with an 800+ score use an average of only 7% of their available credit limit and have virtually no late payments.
• Achieving it: You can learn more about what it takes and see the latest data directly through the Experian Consumer Credit Report.

Most people do not become completely debt-free until their retirement years (ages 65 and older), largely because mortgages and everyday living costs stretch payment timelines deep into adulthood.

When Debt Peaks vs. When It Ends

• The High-Debt Years: Average debt levels reach their highest point when people are in their 40s and 50s. During this time, large housing mortgages, car payments, and lingering student loans peak.
• The Retirement Reality: While financial experts often recommend clearing all debt by age 45 or 50, data shows that only about 23% of retirees aged 65 to 74 enter retirement completely debt-free.
• Consumer vs. Mortgage Debt: Many people consider themselves "debt-free" once they pay off unsecured consumer loans (like credit cards or car notes) in their 30s and 40s, but a primary home mortgage often remains until people reach their 50s, 60s, or beyond.

You can review a full generational breakdown of average balances in the Experian Average American Debt Report.

An estimated 2.7% of credit cardholders in major U.S. metropolitan areas carry balances of $50,000 or more.

Credit Card Debt Overview

• Total Debt: U.S. consumers owe a total of $1.26 trillion in credit card balances.
• Average Balances: The average individual cardholder carries between $6,000 and $7,756 in debt, meaning a $50,000 balance is far above the norm.
• Five-Figure Balances: Roughly 26.5% of cardholders across major metro areas carry five-figure debt ($10,000 or more), but balances reaching $50,000 represent a much smaller, highly strained group.