NORTH CAROLINA -- A
new, major change is coming to medical debt and it will improve credit
scores for millions of Americans.
North Carolina's hospitals can recognize an emergency - and then take meaningful action!
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper: "Medical debt is not a choice, and it’s monumental to have North Carolina hospitals committing to be part of eliminating medical debt for their patients. By joining this first-in-the-nation solution, they are raising the bar for health care, and together we will make a life-changing difference for our families and our economy."
"As of today, all of the state’s 99 eligible hospitals have committed to participate."
✅ Real life happens: 
"On March 30, 2019, a swerving car upended Tom Burke’s life. Severely injured after the crash, Burke was airlifted from the Fort Liberty U.S. Army base in North Carolina to UNC Medical Center, in Chapel Hill, where doctors performed surgeries to rebuild his leg.
Medicaid covered most of the cost, but Burke was still left with more than $10,000 in bills. He was confined to a wheelchair for two years after the accident, unable to work his car sales job. As a result, he said, he couldn’t pay the outstanding hospital bill and his account was turned over to a collection agent.
Since then, he and his wife repeatedly tried to buy a house. But because of damage to his credit score, mortgage companies repeatedly turned them down."
“We were forced into homelessness for a time,” said Burke, whose family moved from North Carolina to Missouri in 2020. “For everything we need credit for, we’re screwed.”
✅ Tom Burke was a credit union member.
😎 Risk-based lending, endorsed and promoted by our SECU Board, unjustly - and intentionally - hurts many SECU members. How many examples, how many hurricanes, how many wildfires, how many natural disasters, how many emergencies, how many unexpected job losses and deaths...
How many personal member tragedies will it take to make our SECU Board care about fairness and other human beings again?
SECU is better than this... or used to be.
While race based lending is wrong on every level and you can argue the numerous issues with the US health care system, but you picked a horrible example to try and make a point.
ReplyDelete1, Tom's a liar. He was not "homeless" because of a medical bill. He couldn't get a mortgage because he didn't pay a debt he owed. About a hundred million people in this country rent who have outstanding debts that need to be paid.
2, when he returned to work, why didn't he pay the bill? Why didn't he ask the credit union to loan him 10k to pay his debt? I made numerous loans over the years which included funds to pay old debts.
3, lets suppose the debt were a 10k credit card from the credit union that didn't get paid while he was out of work for 2 years. Did you not run an organization for 40 years that has a POLICY of no services if you have a charge off? Services which include obtaining a mortgage.
Your argument here "its fine for him to owe someone else and get a mortgage but not ok to owe the credit union the same amount." This has nothing to do with race based lending. This is about paying your debts.
All good questions which the loan officers and member loan review committees use to ask members in the past to explain.
DeleteNow SECU uses your approach... assume every member is a liar.
If you can't see the problem in this approach, then you won't be able to understand why many of us feel SECU hit an iceberg in terms of member service in 2021.
Problematic lending is simply the most obvious example that there is a hole in the ship with loan losses and delinquency pouring in!
What makes you believe loan officers are not talking to these members and asking these questions? Is there an increased risk of default if the member is faced with the choice of using their limited funds to to pay a decreased amount to clear the medical debt, if offered, instead of SECU?
DeleteThe reason I "believe" it? Took the time to ask and listen . You don't seem to feel that asking and listening is all that necessary.
DeleteThat's OK, no problem, but it is resulting in hundreds of millions of $$$ in increased loan losses - which we members are having to fund. You play, we pay! Risk-based member-ownership?
Just for the record, as I recall SECU stopped considering med debt in loan decisions about 20 years ago - one of those unicorn-type, member-focused ideas...Check it out.
SECU had identified the med debt problem years ago, which other folks are now, finally accepting as correct thinking.
With the current "industry standard tells us how to think" mentality, not surprised that current lending folks didn't see all this coming. Another SECU lending "step back in time" innovation?
When the CU moved to RBL, it re-instituted the med debt credit score penalty for all our members. Not exactly the best example of People Helping People in North Carolina...
Gonna be the same "revelation" for SECU lending folks - in time - on RBL... kinda like Jim Crow, it too was legal once.
" "industry standard tells us how to think" "
DeleteExactly ... this right here ^
Can't lead when you're a follower ...
So you are good with a member not being able to pay $10k in unexpected expenses if it is medical related, and are also good with a member not being able to pay unexpected expenses for a home we financed for them? Do you think this member would be able to pay for the expected maintenance of a home, such as a roof, which can be $10k+?
ReplyDeleteYes! willing to listen and help if possible.
DeleteIf you're afraid to make a decision and be accountable, fully understand your concern.
How do you know it wasn't elective surgery?
ReplyDeleteHe faked the car accident?
Delete"The First Rule Of Medicine Is "Do No Harm""
ReplyDeleteWell we seen first hand how that turned out ...
Everything is about money and power... EVERYTHING!