I'm reminded of some lines from "A Christmas Carol." "Are there no workhouses? Are there no prisons?" ... It's wild how many changes to embolden debt collections happens in so many places, often snuck in by a few legislators that just don't think they'll get called out and generally don't. I'm lucky to live in a state that to my knowledge has a lot of protections in place and makes it harder to charge interest or sue over medical debt.

I would like to see some billing revisions take place and make the majority of collections susceptible to review. Also, limit the rates that a facility can charge limited to no more than a 20% variance. Of course now that insurance companies don't act with a fiduciary responsibility, this also needs to change. Obamacare, as well intended as it is/was, has introduced some fierce unintended consequences.

As someone who was saddled with a $138k set of bills (after insurance, before Obamacare), it's rough. I make decent money and still had to spend the better part of a decade working 60-70 hour weeks with a day job and side work to pay it off. If they made medical debt a tax credit, it isn't even a deduction most of the time, I'd bet there'd be more interest in actually adjusting the course.

I would like to see the collective coverage for Medicare, Medicaid, VA Medical, and Federal Employee coverage combined into a non-profit medical insurance anyone can get a policy from with a single policy that can and does negotiate with fiduciary responsibility. Of course, then the congress would handcuff such an organization and make it unable to wield its' negotiating ability.