Idaho eighth highest for average medical debt

An analysis of data from the Consumer Protection Bureau shows Idaho ranked eighth-highest in average medical debt at $2,832 as of December 2020.

Massachusetts ranked lowest at $975, and Wyoming the highest at $6,516.

Idaho was 31st in the percentage of people with medical debt at 12.7%. It was the 16th lowest in total debt, at $575 million.

Across the state line in Washington, roughly 5% of residents have medical debt, and the state ranks 33rd for average debt at $1,742. Washington has a total of $601 million in medical debt.

The analysis, published by the pharmaceutical provider NiceRX, also used data from the Census Bureau to compare medical debt across age, income and ethnicity.

It found that seniors 75 years old and older had the highest average medical debt at $17,510 per person. However, people aged 45 to 54 had the most cases of medical debt, with more than 20% of people having medical debt in that age group.

About 20% of people classified as middle income had medical debt, making that income bracket the most in debt, followed by the second lowest and lowest income levels at 19.2% and 17.7%, respectively. Only 10.8% of people in the highest income bracket had medical debt.

Generation Z had more medical debt than any other generation, with an average amount owed of $19,890.

The data also showed 26% of Black American had some form of medical debt, making this demographic the group where medical debt was most common. Asian Americans had the lowest medical debt frequency at 8.9%. Non-Hispanic white Americans had the highest average medical debt at $14,540.

The full report is available at bit.ly/3PqJyFG.

Sun may be contacted at rsun@lmtribune.com or on Twitter at @Rachel_M_Sun. This report is made possible by the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting, the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.