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The housing market's growing troubles are causing a ripple effect throughout the U.S. economy. Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 130 million home loans were obtained in the past decade, and that risky mortgages were approved in nearly every corner of the nation. Many healthcare providers are wondering how the mortgage meltdown will affect the business of collecting healthcare debt. To date, there has been little or no analysis regarding the effect of the housing crisis on healthcare collections. However, even without rigorous analysis, there are several clear trends.