Study to evaluate how medical debt impacts La Porte County residents
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The Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute and the Health Foundation of La Porte have launched a yearlong initiative to study how medical debt impacts county residents. The partnership also aims to advocate for people struggling to afford health care.
Examining the barriers to health care is a key part of the project, the institute said in a news release. About 7% of La Porte County residents lack health insurance, nearly 12% have medical debt in collections and nearly 20% live in poverty.
“Access to a doctor during times of medical need should not be a luxury,” institute Director Erin Macey said in the news release. “However, our 2020 Community Needs Assessments indicated that many residents of La Porte struggle to afford health care. The Institute is proud to announce this partnership with Health Foundation of La Porte to work within this sphere of great need, amplifying the voices of those struggling under the weight of medical debt and fear of accessing health care systems and providing resources to improve well-being.”
Part of the initiative will include a “Know Your Rights” campaign, the news release said, with workshops related to health care access, charity care, Affordable Care Act coverage and surprise-bill resources.
“Medical debt is a silent crisis that can have devastating consequences on individuals and families in La Porte County,” the foundation’s CEO, Eric DeWald, said in the news release. “By partnering with Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, we hope to inform solutions that can alleviate this burden.”
Lauren Murfree, a policy analyst at the institute, will lead the research. She was among 61 Hoosiers who provided testimony earlier this year to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the hardship created when medical debt appears on credit reports.
Indiana, according to a letter they provided to the bureau, is ranked 11th for highest share of the population with medical debt in collections. Nearly 1 in 5 Hoosiers had an outstanding medical debt in collections in 2023, and the median amount was $748.
“Sharing my experiences with medical debt in public testimony to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau inspired me to devise this project as a way to take further action to help others facing challenges with medical debt,” Murfree said in the news release. “Accessible health care is essential to well-being, and I am looking forward to working with Hoosiers in La Porte on this project.”
The Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute is a program of the Indiana Community Action Association, a statewide nonprofit that combats poverty through advocacy, education and assistance.