are filed against Utahns with medical debt — a figure that makes up around a third of all Utah debt collection cases.found that 100 million Americans are saddled with medical debt. Over half of U.S. adults reported going into debt in the last few years because of medical and dental bills. One in five of those with health care debt said they don't expect to ever pay it off, and a quarter owed over $5,000.
, which seeks to knock down barriers to legal justice by providing a space for lawyers and other professionals to deliver nontraditional legal services. Although the advocates can offer legal advice, they cannot represent people in court. The Utah Supreme Court also approved a medical debt diversion plan to train medical debt legal advocates at two Salt Lake City nonprofits: the AAA Fair Credit Foundation and People's Legal Aid.
"We have everything and everybody across the board," she said. "We help anybody who walks through our doors. To us, it makes no difference, their immigration status. We see every individual. We're all human beings. Everybody has to eat. Everybody gets sick."