Medical Debt and Housing Instability

Medical ⁣debt was associated with a substantially higher risk of ‍housing⁢ instability in ‍the following year, according to a new ⁤study‌ published in JAMA Network Open,‌ underscoring ‌the broader financial and social consequences of health care-related debt.¹

In the nationally representative cohort study of⁤ US adults ‌using longitudinal survey data collected between⁤ 2023 and 2025, researchers found that adults who reported carrying⁢ medical debt were significantly more likely⁣ to‍ experience difficulty paying rent or a mortgage,​ eviction, or foreclosure in the subsequent year, even after accounting‍ for prior housing instability and other financial and demographic factors.

The cohort study included 1515 adults participating in the cumulative Life Stressors⁣ Impact ⁤on Mental Health ⁢and Well-Being ‍Study,⁤ a nationally representative‌ panel. Participants had a mean ⁣(SD) age of ‍52.2‌ (16.2) years,and nearly half were women (49.7%). In 2024, 240 participants (16.4%) reported having medical ‌debt. In 2025, 110 individuals (8.7%) reported housing instability, including rent burden (7.8%) and loss of housing due‌ to eviction ⁤or foreclosure (1.5%);‌ outcomes were not mutually exclusive.

Unadjusted analyses showed stark ​differences between those with and without medical debt. Nearly one-quarter of adults with medical​ debt experienced ‌housing ⁤instability ⁣in the following ⁣year (23.5%; 95% CI,⁤ 18.2%-29.9%), compared with 5.8% (95% CI, 3.6%-9.4%) ⁣of those⁤ without medical debt.