The Washington Post recently covered the national and local DC reform debates about the harms of medical debt on credit reports, quoting Staff Attorney Jennifer Holloway and linking to Tzedek DC’s report on DC’s medical debt crisis in advance of the upcoming December 15, 2025, hearing by the DC Council on proposed reforms arising out of the report.
As Medicaid cuts take effect and the federal government’s harmful policies worsen, the already significant scope of medical debt problems is generating further focus, leading into the Council’s December 15 hearing.
DC’s medical debt challenges mirror the emerging, large national challenges. Newsweek on November 30 devoted an entire article to medical debt, noting in part that "As part of the 'One Big Beautiful Bill', there will be $1 trillion in cuts made to Medicaid, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted will see millions pushed off the program, alongside work requirements for eligibility, unless exempt, which many have warned will push even more Americans off the program, largely because of the administrative burden."
Further, the expiration of enhanced tax credits, which helped low-income Americans purchase plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, is expected to cause healthcare premiums to rise about 20 percent. Millions of people may lose access to health insurance as a result of these changes.
Stanford University professor Mahoney notes, as quoted in Newsweek, that "My research shows this medical debt will weigh on family budgets and harm their health, reducing credit scores and making families think twice before filling their medications and going back to the doctor for follow-up care." He went on to say, “hospitals should also do their part by providing financial assistance to families that can't pay and forgiving unpayable debt."
Tzedek DC’s testimony at the DC Council’s upcoming December 15 hearing and our coalition advocacy and support of community members sharing their stories will make the case for reforms to reduce those stresses and burdens on DC families from medical debt.
About Tzedek DC
Tzedek DC’s name is drawn from the ancient Jewish teaching “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” Headquartered at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and with offices also in Ward 8, Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents with lower incomes facing the often-devastating consequences of debt collection and credit-related obstacles. This mission is carried out as anti-racism work in response to the massive wealth gaps tracking race in DC and nationwide. Tzedek DC seeks to serve and empower our client base, which is comprised of 90% Black people, 60% women, and 25% disabled community members. Our strategic approach combines three synergistic activities: (i) free direct services—legal representation and advice and financial counseling; (ii) working in coalition to make systemic change; and (iii) providing bilingual community legal education on debt collection, identity theft, and credit management. Since launching in 2017, Tzedek DC has served over 6,000 households and catalyzed systemic change benefiting hundreds of thousands of DC community members.