Bridge Michigan reporters Robin Erb and Lauren Gibbons joined WJR-760 this week to discuss how rising medical debt is impacting residents, and what political candidates are proposing to do about it.
The pair joined “All Talk with Kevin Dietz” on Tuesday as part of an ongoing election-year collaboration between Bridge and WJR.
You can watch WJR-760 All Talk here.
The collaboration — known as “Election 2026 Coverage that Matters to Michigan” — is part of Bridge Listens, a yearlong effort to help identify and discuss the top election issues in Michigan before the 2026 election.
Bridge readers identified rising health care costs as a top concern in our ongoing survey.
Related:
- Michigan medical debts, anger soar as hospitals spend billions on expansions
- Michigan lawmakers target medical debt, drug costs and a surprising fee
- Michigan may force hospitals to disclose savings from drug cost program
Medical debt is a “huge issue” that an estimated 700,000 Michiganders face, Erb said, describing her recent reporting on how that’s impacting consumers.
“A part of the problem is they’re not understanding how this medical debt accumulated,” she continued, noting that billing codes and other medical paperwork can be difficult to decipher.
“You see hospitals being built, you see consolidation, you see fights between hospitals and insurers, and you wonder, What’s going on in the background?”
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