medical debt

Shortly before Tyler Verrier turned 18 years old, a block of wood fell on his foot during an accident at home. He spent months receiving treatment and physical therapy for the injury.

Worried that President-elect Donald Trump will curtail federal efforts to take on the nation’s medical debt problem, patient and consumer advocates are looking to states to help people who can’t afford their medical bills or pay down their debts.

A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finds that the nation’s health care system is supported by an infrastructure of billing, payments, collections and credit reporting that is fraught with commonplace mistakes.