Medical debt in MA persists

Although the law has failed to cut medical debt, some analysts say it may have prevented an increase in Massachusetts. Of more than 3,000 Massachusetts adults surveyed in fall 2010—the most recent survey data available—17.5 percent reported having problems paying medical bills in the previous year. Twenty percent said they were carrying medical debt and paying it over time. Those figures changed slightly from 2006, but researchers said the difference was not statistically significant. The figures are from a report released earlier this year by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.