The National Credit Union Foundation has produced a guide that credit unions can use to help their members manage and ease the burdens of medical debt.

When announcing its Medical Debt Toolkit, the foundation sourced the New York City based Commonwealth Fund, which reported survey results that showed 75 million people, or 41% of working aged adults, experienced medical bill problems. The same survey found that 48 million people, or 26% of working age adults, had a medical debt or were paying off a medical bill over time.

“Part of improving people's financial lives is to meet them where they are in life,” Foundation Executive Director Gigi Hyland noted. “Medical debt is a widespread problem that can create havoc with people's financial lives. Often, members with medical debt are also experiencing broader financial problems and need assistance not only to address their medical debt issues but also need help with other aspects of their finances.”

“In fact,” wrote the foundation's Mark Lynch in the toolkit's introduction, “Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. Yet medical debt tends to be talked about much less than credit card debt, mortgage debt and student loan debt.”

The guide defined medical debt and provided suggestions for credit unions to use to help screen members and offered strategies members can use to address the debt. For example, if the member has medical insurance, the credit union might help him or her make sure contact information is up to date so claims can be paid more efficiently.