Washington, DC – Medical debt is a growing problem affecting up to 41% of American adults, according to a recent study by Kaiser Family Foundation and NPR. Medical expenses are often unexpected. Patients cannot afford the rising cost of healthcare. Only a fraction of households qualifies for charitable care and debt forgiveness. Insurance coverages and medical billing are confusing and may contain mistakes that are difficult to resolve.

To gain a better understanding of these and other factors contributing to the medical debt crisis, Capio, one of the largest non-performing healthcare asset acquirers in the country, is sponsoring and participating in a forum at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business on September 8, 2022. The discussion will go beyond the causes to what can be done to help people resolve their medical debt and gain financial freedom.

The free event, titled Prescription for Medical Debt: How Care Providers, Collections and Government Can Help, is available for all who register to attend in-person or virtually.

The panel of medical debt experts will be moderated by Hank Cardello, Executive Director at McDonough’s Business for Impact. Panel participants include:

• John McNamara, Assistant Director, Consumer Credit, Payments, and Deposits Markets, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• Ashwini Kotwal, CEO of Arietis Health
• Mark V. Detrick, CEO, Capio, LLC

Georgetown University will release and review a new white paper at the event that outlines causes and potential solutions for the medical debt crisis. Two key recommendations from the paper to help address the medical debt crisis gripping the nation are capping medical debt payments at a percentage of verified household income, and more flexible plans to resolve medical debts over a 24-month period.

“We’re participating in the panel to share what we’ve learned working with more than 20 million patients to resolve their debt, and to find practical solutions that deliver both a positive patient experience and the essential revenue for providers to continue offering quality care,” said Mark Detrick, CEO at Capio, LLC. “Only by working together and sharing our expertise as business leaders, patient advocates, care providers and government officials can we solve such an important and complex problem.”

Anyone interested can attend the meeting virtually, or in person:

• Time: Start of lunch (11:30am), start of panel (12:00pm), end of event (1:30pm)
• Location: Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, Rafik B. Hariri Building, Fisher Colloquium
• Physical Address: 37th and O Streets, Rafik B. Hariri Building, Washington, DC 20057

Update

The recording is now available on YouTube, and here is a link to the published white paper.