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Patients and advocates urge D.C. to protect residents from medical debt harms
Summary
Patient advocates, cancer-survivor groups and community organizations told the Committee on Health that medical debt causes housing instability and deters care. Witnesses shared survey findings and a local case about an erroneous $2,400 hearing-aid bill to illustrate gaps in price transparency and financial assistance accessibility.
Multiple patient advocates and community organizations testified in favor of the Medical Debt Mitigation bill, saying it would both prevent new medical debt and protect residents already grappling with bills. Bethany Lilly of Blood Cancer United said a 2023 national survey by her organization found nearly 70% of respondents had received unaffordable medical bills; she called the bill's combination of standardized financial assistance and collection protections "both" relief and prevention.
Sam Pannell of Zedek DC read the testimony of Dorothy Paul, a Ward 6 senior who described a hearing-aid charge that ballooned to $2,400 despite an attorney-assisted application for financial help and repeated administrative delays. Derek Dyer of Legal Counsel for the Elderly described how medical liens can block seniors from accessing reverse mortgages or filing Chapter 13 relief, undermining housing stability.
Advocates urged widening the bill's reach beyond "large healthcare facilities," simplifying financial assistance applications and adding stronger enforcement options so that patients have meaningful remedies when facilities or collectors fail to comply.
