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Comment by NoMoreNicksLeft | Hacker News Reader

Why would paying off medical debt help any of them? They already received the service, it can't be repossessed. It's not as if their medical credit was maxxed out and until it was paid down they couldn't do another ER visit. Paying medical debt only helps the creditors, whoever they are. Similarly, if you're paying cash towards people's rent deposits, it's more like welfare for the landlords. Especially if a financial hiccup will have them evicted again in a few months.

> It treats people with money problems as fellow citizens rather than science projects. It empowers them to make their own decisions.

Maybe they are in trouble because they make poor decisions.

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The article takes as basic measurement the savings of said poor people. I might be wrong but I imagine when you barely afford proper housing and food you don't really think about saving, so the article is like blaming people why they don't eat cake. Even the counting of their worked hours: of course they work less, going down from three jobs to only two is a significant decrease in working hours. My point is, none of those measures were something to drag them out from the level they were in, so I see no reason why they should have changed their habits. A one-time payment gives you the opportunity to fix your car, that's all. And of course what you said, forgiving debt isn't doing much for the person in debt (unless the debt is against mafia, then very much yes).

Your last phrase irked me quite to the point of ignoring the rest. While there are of course poor decision makers among poor, I believe just blaming them does zero helping the society - and I hope for a society where I can walk on the streets without being attacked by starving "poor decision makers". And no, living between barbed wire walls is not a future I like either.

People need medical care more than once in their life. A great many medical care providers won't continue to treat patients who don't pay their bills [ER visits are an exception--but that is very high priced care and patients should be encouraged to use cheaper alternatives].

I'll refer you to my original comment, which said this:

>> Why would paying off medical debt help any of them? They already received the service, it can't be repossessed. It's not as if their medical credit was maxxed out and until it was paid down they couldn't do another ER visit.

> A great many medical care providers won't continue to treat patients who don't pay their bills

For the people we're talking about, they won't treat them at all without some proof that they're able to pay, and in some cases, payment up front. Paying down bills won't get these people further medical treatment. It's like you're confused, but I'm having difficulty figuring out where.

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