[FreqSep]

Note that this data is from a poll, not actual investigations of medical account balances. It includes the following, very broad, categories in the original polling methodology:

“c. Any debt you owe to a bank, collection agency, or other lender that includes debt or loans used to pay medical or dental bills.

d. Any medical or dental bills that you have put on a credit card, and are paying off over time.”

Thus, by one interpretation, if you’re already in over $5,000 of credit card debt, and you charge a $10 prescription fill or $25 copay to that credit card, their methodology will now include you in the medical debt and medical debt amount statistics as having medical debt over $5,000. The specific wording of the “amount” question seemingly tries to prevent this, but considering the above was classified as medical debt prior in the polling, it’s not hard at all to imagine people answering in the affirmative.

Is this really true? I don’t know, that’s a complicated discussion. There are certainly people who are paying medical costs with credit cards. They deserve to be included. But it does seem possibly a bit too broad.