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Title: Sick and in the Red: Medical Debt and its Economic Impact

Copyright Date: October 2010

Pages: 20

Authors: Jose Garcia, Demos, and Mark Rukavina, The Access Project

Description: To gain a better understanding of how medical debt impacts families' debt and assets, Demos collaborated with The Access Project to analyze data from its 2008 national survey of low- and middle-income households with credit card debt. This survey collected information about the scope and nature of credit card debt--from the amount and duration of debt to the types of expenses. This report explores the extent to which medical debt adds to the general credit card debt of households and examines the impact of such debt on families' economic security.