The First-Of-Its-Kind Campaign Is Organizing Those Impacted By Medical Debt To Have Their Voice Heard In The Election

Community Catalyst’s first-of-its-kind “I Am A Medical Debt Voter” campaign, which is organizing those impacted by medical debt in key battleground states to ensure their voices are heard in the election, reached more than 400,000 people through paid digital media in the first two weeks of the campaign. 

The campaign is engaging and mobilizing the more than 100 million people, 4 in 10 adults, who are impacted by the medical debt crisis in this country by emphasizing the importance of electing policymakers who will address the medical debt crisis with urgency, as a means of addressing the top areas of concern for voters: the cost of living.

This is the first time a group has ever organized those impacted by medical debt to vote. The Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort comes on the heels of recent polling that shows the political salience of the issue. 

The polling by HIT Strategies, commissioned by Community Catalyst, found that 75% of voters support removing all medical debt from credit reports and 66% of voters say they would feel more favorable towards a policymaker that supports these efforts. In addition, the polling found that cost of living is currently top of mind for voters and that policies aimed at preventing medical debt would have the biggest impact on their own costs of living. Parents, young voters under 40, Black voters and Latino voters predict even higher impacts. 

In the first few weeks of the campaign, Community Catalyst has already heard from numerous people in battleground states who have been impacted by medical debt. People like:

  • Jan from Georgia: who said, “For the first time in my life, I’ve put my health on hold, because I can’t afford it since retirement.”
  • Dana from Michigan: who said, “[My husband] has had nine major surgeries in eight years. I have had three plus a hospital stay for a septic infection. We cannot get out of debt. Our choice is be in more debt or die.  Please help the seniors of Michigan.”
  • Michelle from Arizona: who said, “My grandparents had to sell their farm when my grandfather had cancer! How many people have to lose their homes and businesses because of our country’s healthcare system?”

Learn more and hear from people directly impacted by medical debt here: commcat.io/med-debt-voter

“We have seen a tremendous response to this campaign in just a short period of time,” said Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Community Catalyst. “Never before has anyone organized this set of voters, but we believe this is a unique moment and that policymakers need to hear from the more than 100 million people affected by the medical debt crisis. And the first few weeks of the campaign has shown that. We know this issue moves voters and those impacted most could be key voters in this election. Our organizing will ensure those who are living through this crisis can have an impact on the election.”

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About Community Catalyst: 

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at communitycatalyst.org.