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Title: Home Sick: How Medical Debt Undermines Housing Security
Copyright Date: Nov. 2005
Pages: 36
Authors: Robert Seifert, The Access Project
Description: Home Sick is based on a survey by The Access Project and its research partners of 1,700 low- and moderate-income taxpayers in seven cities. Nearly half of those people reported having medical debt and, of those, about a quarter said that housing problems resulted from the debt. The most frequent housing problems were the inability to qualify for a mortgage, difficulty making rent or mortgage payments, being turned down from renting a home, and being forced to move to less expensive housing.
Another significant finding was that many people who reported medical debt and subsequent housing problems had health insurance at the time the debt was incurred, suggesting that insurance, in many cases, is not fulfilling its basic purpose of protecting the insured from financial catastrophe. Home Sick details all of these findings, and lays out potential remedies for policy makers, health care providers, insurers and lenders.
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Report
Survey Partners
Press Release
Teleconference Speakers’ Bios
Teleconference Speakers’ Statements
Personal Accounts
Resource List (people willing to grant interviews to the press in order to provide more background information.)
Executive Summary
Windows Media
Nov. 9th Conf. Call WMP (56 kbps)
Topics: Medical Debt