Survived, But at What Cost?

Authored by: Victoria Wroblewski

Art by: Jane Wang

A single mother, struggling to take care of her children, paying rent and medical bills recently opens her pay check to missing money. She was punished for needing medical care. Is it fair for people to involuntarily lose part of their paycheck for getting sick? Right now, most hospitals or debt collectors in several states across the U.S. can go to court and legally take money directly from someone’s paycheck if they do not sufficiently pay their medical bills. This is wage garnishment, a mandatory and involuntary deduction from wages, commissions, or bonuses. 

Thousands of Americans face the consequences of wage garnishment because of unpaid medical bills. Under the Trump Administration, this number is rising as a consequence of growing health care costs, gaps in insurance coverage, and lack of healthcare accessibility due to high deductibles. In fact, medical debt is a pressing issue that is causing over 550,000 people to file for bankruptcy each year. 66.5% of people who file for bankruptcy blame medical bills as the primary cause [1]. It is becoming more difficult to pay off medical debt while also balancing economic fluctuations and inflammatory prices worldwide. This forceful action leaves individuals stranded and unable to prioritize basic human needs, utilities, or their own lives. 

Many patients are being targeted erroneously. Such errors have the potential to pivot someone’s life for the worse and force innocent individuals to face the burden of a significant loss of income, creating financial instability. This was the case for Nicole Silva who received a medical bill for an ambulance that was necessary for the survival of her daughter. She is a preschool teacher with six children, already facing large costs for taking care of her family. Upon a life-threatening incident that required ambulance assistance, she faced wage garnishment from a $3,000 bill. It was inaccurately sent to her family, since Medicaid was supposed to cover the costs. However, upon challenging the bill in court, the case ruled that $500 per month be taken directly out of her paycheck. For households managing tight budgets, facing wage garnishment makes it difficult to pay off expenses that sustain daily activities. Consequently, Silva’s electricity was turned off from inability to pay, not only making life difficult in the moment, but this also made the family fear asking for help from medical services in the future [2]. It is becoming evident that many Americans are hesitant to seek medical care because they fear the financial consequences. Specifically, 45% of the American public is concerned that a major health event could result in personal bankruptcy, sacrificing their health [3]. 

In response, state legislators in eight states, notably Colorado and Michigan, are proposing new laws to limit the impact of wage garnishment and eventually eliminate it completely. Colorado taking part in this action is significant because over 14,000 wage garnishment requests have been approved annually for several years. Now, the Colorado legislature is implementing a 4% price ceiling to prevent payment plans from exceeding garnishment of further weekly net income [4]. Michigan similarly aims to reduce medical debt, the number one cause of bankruptcy in the state, by prohibiting wage garnishment for those that qualify for financial assistance and prohibits denying or requiring payment before providing emergency services due to outstanding medical debt [5]. This regulates aggressive and unjust collection practices while simultaneously providing debt relief measures. 

Healthcare systems today have a reputation for prioritizing debt collections and financial due diligence over human dignity. While states are heading in the right direction and fighting to protect families that hope to seek medical care without fear of long-term financial consequences, Silva’s story emphasizes how important it is for this change to be made. Wage garnishment can truly have a devastating impact on a family’s financial reality. 

References:

1. August, J. (2024, October 21). Healthcare insights: How medical debt is crushing 100 million Americans. Cornell University ILR School Scheinman Institute. https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/scheinman-institute/blog/john-august-healthcare/healthcare-insights-how-medical-debt-crushing-100-million-americans

2. Bichell, R. E. (2025, October 2). Workers’ wages siphoned to pay medical bills, despite consumer protections. KFF Health News. https://www.kffhealthnews.org/news/article/colorado-wage-garnishment-health-care-medical-debt-collections-medicaid/

3. Ellrich, M., & Stevens, L. (2019, April 2). Americans fear personal and national healthcare cost crisis. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/248108/americans-fear-personal-national-healthcare-cost-crisis.aspx

4. Bichell, R. E. (2026, March 2). Colorado joins effort to limit garnishing wages over medical debt. The Colorado Sun. https://coloradosun.com/2026/03/02/garnishing-wages-over-medical-debt/ 

5. Anthony, S. (2026, March 11). Senate passes bipartisan legislation to protect Michiganders burdened by medical debt. Michigan Senate Democrats. https://senatedems.com/anthony/2026/03/11/senate-passes-bipartisan-legislation-to-protect-michiganders-burdened-by-medical-debt/