North Dakota struggles with $61 million in medical debt

North Dakota – The U.S. Department of Health estimates that the country spends $3.5 trillion on healthcare annually.

But, you pay a large portion of those bills, and a large portion of that amounts to debt.

Our residents in North Dakota currently owe about $61 million in medical debt.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of people who report having considerable medical debt owe more than $2,000 each.

In comparison to the other states, North Dakota has the least amount of medical debt.

Many claim that our small population is to blame, but in reality, we perform many fewer medical procedures than in other states.

Hospitals now have to disclose the rates they privately negotiate with insurers under a Trump administration rule that took effect in 2021.