When I was 35, I made it a priority to schedule my annual mammograms because my mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer at just 50. In early 2018, I discovered a lump during a breast self-exam. I immediately shared this with my OB/GYN, who referred me to a breast surgeon. After a mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy, I received the devastating news that I, too, had breast cancer.
My initial treatment plan included a lumpectomy, followed by radiation and five years of Tamoxifen. However, after two surgeries failed to achieve clean margins, I chose to undergo a mastectomy rather than continue with further breast reduction surgeries.
At the time, I was a single mother caring for my mom, who was battling metastatic breast cancer. The emotional weight of my diagnosis was compounded by the financial strain of mounting medical bills and a high deductible. Because of all this, I actually hesitated to move forward with surgery. Luckily, I received a grant from the Ellie Fund, which provided childcare and grocery support for three months. That support gave me the stability and courage to move forward.
In just five months, I endured multiple procedures, including a double mastectomy. The toll was immense, leaving me with $10,000 in debt and a damaged credit status. And while I fought my own battle, I also had to watch my mother lose hers. She passed away from metastatic breast cancer in 2020, leaving behind significant medical bills of her own.
I’m not alone. In this state, which prides itself on being the vanguard of healthcare, the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) reports that nearly 13% of residents are living with family medical debt and almost a third of residents say they, or a family member, had unmet health care needs due to cost. Sadly, though not surprisingly, it disproportionally affects Hispanic and Black populations. Predictably, the debt was due to the costs of medical tests or surgical procedures (50.6%), emergency care (39%), and ongoing treatment for a long-term conditions (38.5%). The vast majority of medical debt occurred with patients who had insurance.
Unfortunately, medical debt has been weaponized to disadvantage those who are already suffering the most.
Instead of hospitals working with patients like me, and also my mother, to connect us with patient assistance programs they may have or giving us enough time to try to pay off the debt, they, or the companies they sell the debt to, hound people. The incessant calls and the never-ending barrage of letters are harassing and stressful at a time when patients are already dealing with so much. I got to the point where I just ignored it all. When I did reach out to the debt collector to try and reach a settlement, they were nasty about it. The whole thing felt awful, even more so because as I was navigating my own health journey, I was also trying to help my mother who I knew was dying. It was overwhelming.
Hospitals need to show more compassion with patients by working with them to help find ways to pay off the debt rather than outsourcing it to collectors.
That’s why I’m supporting a bill at the State House — H419/S214— that seeks to make debt collecting a little more compassionate. Called An Act Alleviating the burden of Medical Debt for Patients and Families, it seeks to protect patients by prohibiting medical debt from being reported to credit agencies, extending the time span before entities can engage in any extraordinary collection actions, prohibiting the seizure of certain assets a patient has such as a home or car, and much more.
No one asks for cancer. And certainly, we shouldn’t be punished for seeking the right treatment for it.
It took me more than two years, but I did eventually pay off my debt and the interest I was charged. But I got no help from the hospital or the collector it sold the debt to. Lawmakers have a chance to make some meaningful change. I hope they rise to the occasion.
Nekia Clark is the Director of Community Engagement & Outreach for the Ellie Fund, an organization that provides financial and emotional support to breast cancer patients.
Medical debt shouldn’t ruin patients, families
