For Immediate Release:
November 20, 2025
Media Contact:
David Guarino
dguarino@melwoodglobal.com
617-548-4981
Ashley Blackburn, Health Care For All’s Interim Executive Director, issued the following statement on the Massachusetts Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) research brief on Family Medical Debt in Massachusetts:
“The burden of medical debt on Massachusetts consumers is deeply troubling and only growing, as evidenced by CHIA’s new research brief. We know that this burden isn’t borne equally, with low- and moderate-income families and Black residents more likely to carry debt that exceeds $2,000 and to repay that debt over a longer and costlier period.
With 1 in 8 Massachusetts residents reporting medical debt, CHIA’s findings underscore the need for reforms and innovative policy solutions to reduce its prevalence and alarming financial impacts. These findings should bring new urgency to efforts by state leaders to pursue meaningful and equitable solutions to help those most impacted by medical debt.
We echo key recommendations in the report including addressing health insurance coverage affordability challenges. We also encourage policymakers to bolster the Health Safety Net and consider legislation that would protect people with medical debt from predatory debt collection practices and improve access to financial assistance.
Massachusetts must act now to protect consumers already facing mounting debt that will only grow and worsen with upcoming federal cuts to health coverage and care.”
Read CHIA’s brief here.