HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, discussed the increase in the number of consumers who are using credit cards to pay for their medical expenses during a segment on “NBC Nightly News.” The segment aired Feb. 7, 2007, and also was published on the MSNBC web site.

A recent study by Demos and the Access Project linked high credit-card debt to medical expenses. In a survey of low- and middle-income households, 29 percent of those who cited medical expenses as a factor in their credit card debt had higher balance–46 percent higher, on average–than those who did not use credit cards to pay for health care. Low- and middle-income households who used credit cards to pay for medical expenses averaged credit card debt of $11,623, according to the study, while households that did not charge medical expenses averaged credit card debt of $7,964.

Clark told “NBC Nightly News” that hospitals, too, are in a tight spot, given the number of patients who are uninsured (47 million) or who have high-deductible plans and cannot afford their deductibles.
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“The high-deductible health plans are causing hospitals to have to collect more up front,” Clarke told NBC. “[Hospitals] are worried about the fact that patients will need treatment, yet they won’t have the money to pay up front.”

Clarke also discussed rising costs in two other recent television appearances. He recorded two interviews with “First Business Morning News” to discuss HFMA’s recent report Healthcare Finance Outlook 2007. To watch the videos, visit www.hfma.org/about/pressroom and click on “press releases.”