Housing Instability Following Medical Debt Exposure Among US Adults, 2023 to 2025.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Medical debt may place patients at heightened risk of housing instability as a result of increased financial strain or extraordinary collection actions.

Objective

To estimate the association of medical debt with housing instability in the subsequent year.

Design, setting, and participants

Cohort study in the US from 2023 to 2025 including adults participating in the Cumulative Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well Being Study, a nationally representative, longitudinal panel.

Exposures

Past-year medical debt self-reported in 2024.

Main outcomes and measures

Past-year housing instability (ie, difficulty paying rent or mortgage, eviction, or foreclosure) self-reported in 2025. Propensity score weighting was used to account for differenc

SUBMITTER: Moon KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12797096 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature