One of GetInsured’s goals is for all Nevadans to have access to high quality health care without financial distress. This is why the company retired $580,899 of medical debt in the state of Nevada, after learning that numerous individuals and families throughout the state are currently experiencing hardship due to unpaid and un-payable medical bills. In fact, 40 percent of Nevada residents who responded to GetInsured’s survey said they owed more than a thousand dollars in health costs within the past five years.
According to GetInsured’s first-ever Nevada Resident Medical Debt Survey, more than half (55 percent) of respondents did not seek and / or declined medical treatment out of fear of what it might cost.
GetInsured discovered that critical health services are driving hard-working Nevadans into debt. For example, more than 40 percent of the Nevada residents surveyed cited emergency care as the health / medical service that led to their medical debt, followed by prescription drugs (13 percent) and maternity / women’s health services (11 percent).
The research GetInsured conducted in Nevada, in addition to the charitable effort, is a continuation of GetInsured’s state-by-state campaign to eliminate medical debt across America, and spread awareness about the importance of selecting the right health insurance plan.
In Nevada, 22 percent of the population has medical debt in collections on their credit report, according to RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity that collaborated with GetInsured to locate, buy and forgive the medical debt. GetInsured’s research also discovered that 62 percent of survey respondents received a medical bill for a high dollar amount that came as a surprise or was difficult to pay off, while 85 percent are at least somewhat concerned about encountering high medical bills in the future.
For many, surprise medical bills can mean having to forgo a family vacation – and for others, it is the difference between whether or not there is food on the table. That is why we work to connect Nevadans with quality health plans that are within budget and meet their health care needs. No Nevadan, regardless of age or circumstance, should be without coverage.
