Local 5058 Members Speak Out About the Growing Crisis of Medical Debt

Members of HPAE Local 5058 spoke before the Neptune Township Committee yesterday about the negative impact of medical debt on our members and the community. After being introduced by Beverly Fey, a Neptune resident, Local 5058 President Kendra McCann discussed the results of a survey of medical debt which HPAE members participated in and proposed policy recommendations that will help support New Jersey consumers.

Kendra noted that “As professionals we see every day the struggle for our patients to afford the care they need, but increasingly we are now seeing nurses themselves unable to afford care and, in some cases,  avoiding treatment for themselves and their families simply because they can not afford to pay their medical bills. The bottom line is that patients should not be driven into debt and subjected to aggressive billing practices for receiving necessary and often urgently needed medical care.”

Local 5058 VP Kathleen Kochel also addressed the committee. She discussed her personal struggle with medical debt, stating that “over the past few years my co-pay has been increasing while the amount paid by my insurance carrier decreases.”