[Leroy Brown’s hands showing his medical bills]
Leroy Brown (interview): “I owe exactly in hospital bills $40,000.”
[Brown showing his medical bills in his office]
Leroy Brown (interview): “My name is Leroy Brown. I’m being sued by IU Health. And I have the court papers right here, one of the papers that I’m being sued by.”
[Brown showing a court document]
Leroy Brown (interview): “It’s for hospital bills that hadn’t been paid. And I have full coverage insurance. It’s just the part that… I’m on disability, that I can’t afford to pay.”
[Brown sitting in his office]
[Two people walking by a hospital sign]
Helen Colby (interview): “Medical debt is fundamentally different from other kinds of consumer debt because it’s debt that consumers don’t choose. You choose to buy a car, you choose to go on a vacation or put things on your credit card, but most medical debt is accrued in situations where people are really sick and need care and they don’t make that decision. It’s something that happens to them and it’s just generally bad luck.”
[Colby’s hands typing on her laptop]
[Colby sitting in her office and typing on her laptop]
Leroy Brown (interview): “Anytime that you’re diabetic or have any chronic stuff going on with you, you have to constantly go to the doctor and for pain and stuff like that, I’m not going to sit up and be in pain. I’m not going to do that. I’m going to go to a doctor and get some pain pills or something. He’s got to do something to help me.”
[Brown leaving his office]
[Brown’s hands on the steering wheel]
[Brown looking at the road as he is driving]
Leroy Brown (interview): “Me having $40,000 worth of medical debt, it messes up your credit and they started calling me a whole lot about the medical debt.”
[People walking on the streets downtown Indianapolis]
[Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis]
Helen Colby (interview): “The decision to include medical debt in consumer’s credit scores is going to be challenging for consumers because a lot of people are going to decide to delay care because they’re worried about accruing medical debt and the effect that might have on their lives. Also, people who have accrued medical debt through no fault of their own, through just bad luck, are suddenly going to have these issues finding apartments, getting to buy cars, even being disqualified from jobs.”
[A weekly pill organizer]
[Brown taking some pills]
Leroy Brown (interview): “I decided to file bankruptcy because the debt has got to be so overwhelming and then one of the bills was trying to sue me and so I said I am tired. I’m tired and I’m getting older and I don’t need nothing at this age stressing me out.”
[Brown testing his blood sugar level]
[Brown sitting on his back porch at home]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.