Albany organization heading to D.C. to urge Biden admin to address medical debt crisis

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - An Albany-based nonprofit is heading to the nation’s capitol with calls to reform medical debt.

SOWEGA Rising will head to Washington D.C. to join Community Catalyst for its Medical Debt Day of Action to urge the Biden administration to do more to address the medical debt crisis.

While in Washington, SOWEGA leaders, along with Community Catalyst and a board coalition of allied groups, will meet with administration officials, members of Congress and other leaders from across the country.

Currently, 4 in 10 adults are impacted by the medical debt crisis, and the crisis “forces too many people to make the impossible choice between life and debt,” SOWEGA Rising said in a statement.

“We are going to Washington to give a voice to the countless people in rural communities who want to see the government do more about the growing medical debt crisis in Georgia,” Sherrell Byrd, executive director of SOWEGA Rising, said.

The nonprofit says more than 108,000 people in Georgia have some form of medical debt, totaling over $120 million, which impacts both uninsured and underinsured people.

“The underlying issue of medical debt is simple: health care is inadequate and far too expensive,” Byrd said. “For too long, the health care system has been dominated by corporate interests that put profit over people. This is unfair, widespread and deepens inequity across our state. It’s essential that the Biden administration do more to protect millions of people from medical debt.”

People will also be traveling with SOWEGA Rising and will share their personal stories of their experiences with medical debt.