By Anna Anderson

This National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) report provides an overview of the carceral medical debt problem and policy recommendations and solutions to address the issue. The report provides background on the nature of the carceral medical debt, including the complex healthcare needs of people who are incarcerated, what fees are assessed and why, how these fees impact health outcomes and lead to medical debt, how carceral medical debt affects families and reentry, and private equity and for-profit contractors’ roles in this problem. The report includes an extensive review of the common sources of medical debt and how these debts are collected. It details recent policy victories in the effort to eliminate carceral medical debt, as well as some troubling setbacks. The report concludes with consumer-focused policy reforms to address medical debt related to incarceration.

Boston: National Consumer Law Center, 2024. 46p.