--- title: 'Medical Debt vs. Student Loan Debt: Which Would You Cancel?' description: Most Americans think it's more important to forgive medical debt rather than student loan debt, a new University of Chicago study reports. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 501 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2024-06-21T15:23:29.000Z' modified: '2024-06-21T15:23:29.000Z' section: Personal Finance word_count: 862 canonical: https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We may earn a fee if you click on the links below. Compensation does not determine ranking. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of a person in medical coat reaching for a bandaid made of money](https://img.money.com/2024/06/News-Medical-Debt-Student-Loan-Forgiveness.jpg) Americans would rather see the federal government forgive medical debt over student loan debt. A small majority, 51%, of Americans say it’s “extremely” or “very important” for the government to broadly forgive medical debt, while 39% say the same for student loans according to a [recent survey](https://apnorc.org/projects/views-toward-student-loan-relief-are-tied-to-partisanship-and-experience-with-debt/) from AP-NORC, a partnership between the [University of Chicago](https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/university-of-chicago/) and the Associated Press. The researchers found that respondents' own experience with debt — especially student loans — tends to influence their views, writing “those who are currently paying student loans are more likely than respondents who have paid off loans or have no experience with student debt to consider student debt relief from the federal government important.” Political affiliation was also a major factor, with Democrats more likely to back federal debt cancellation efforts than independents and Republicans. ## Struggling with debt? Get relief today! ### If you owe over $25,000, National Debt Relief can help reduce your burden. Start your journey by selecting your state today! [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/occ1e6c65993?ap_referrer=%2Fmedical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness%2F) ## Medical debt vs. student loan debt Despite student loan debt being a far more prevalent issue in terms of debt owed and the number of people affected, Americans are more likely to support canceling medical debt. According to the latest [figures](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm) from the Federal Reserve, over 40 million Americans hold $1.7 trillion of student debt, including both federal and [private student loans](https://money.com/student-loans/). On the other hand, the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation [estimates](https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/#Share%20of%20adults%20who%20have%20medical%20debt,%20by%20state,%202019-2021) that about 20 million Americans owe a total of at least $220 billion in medical debt. That number is a conservative estimate, as KFF notes, because tracking medical debt can be difficult. For instance, it's common practice for folks struggling to pay their medical bills to put a payment on their [credit card](https://money.com/best-credit-cards/). At that point, the debt is [no longer considered medical debt but credit card debt](https://money.com/medical-credit-cards-what-to-know/). Even so, the true amount of medical debt is likely much lower than student loan debt, yet most Americans would support federal government initiatives to wipe it away. One major reason why could be the very nature of medical debt. Often, “the debt is taken on unexpectedly and in a time of crisis,” Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), recently told reporters. Chopra also noted that having medical debt is a particularly poor indicator of one’s financial habits — because no one really takes on this type of debt voluntarily. Through this lens, Americans appear more sympathetic toward canceling debts that were racked up due to someone getting sick or injured. They are also more supportive of forgiveness efforts when the relief is more targeted. Respondents were more likely to support canceling both medical and student debts for those who were defrauded by the lender, have made 20 years of on-time payments or are experiencing financial hardship. ## Debt holding you back? ### If you owe over $20,000, learn how Freedom Debt Relief can help you reduce or eliminate it. Act now! [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/nd3b95dcb6af?ap_referrer=%2Fmedical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness%2F) ## Plans to forgive student loans and medical debt With the November presidential election approaching, the Biden administration has been forging ahead with plans to address both student loan debt and medical debt. Earlier this month, the CFPB unveiled a rule proposal that would bar all [medical debt from appearing on people’s credit report](https://money.com/biden-ban-medical-debt-credit-reports/), potentially boosting the [credit scores](https://money.com/what-is-a-credit-score/) of indebted Americans by 20 points. In tandem with the rule, Vice President Kamala Harris called on states, local governments and health care providers to forgive the medical debt of struggling Americans. She highlighted a variety of local-level initiatives already in effect, with plans to cancel $7 billion of medical debt for some 3 million Americans by 2026. States like Arizona, Connecticut and New Jersey are using funds from the American Rescue Plan to purchase the medical debt of its residents and forgive it. Local areas such as Cook County, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Orange County, Florida, and a handful of other cities and counties are doing the same. As for student debt relief, President Joe Biden has made forgiveness a centerpiece of his appeal to younger voters. To date, Biden has canceled about $170 billion of federal student loan debt for nearly 5 million Americans. Through his new [income-driven repayment plan SAVE](https://money.com/save-student-loan-plan-signup/), 4.6 million Americans have had their monthly loan payments set to $0. In July, some 3 million more Americans who are enrolled in the plan will have their payments drop from 10% of their disposable income to 5%. Separately, Biden is making a second attempt at broader student loan forgiveness after the [U.S. Supreme Court struck down](https://money.com/supreme-court-blocks-student-loan-forgiveness/) his first plan last summer. Biden's [new $150 billion forgiveness proposal](https://money.com/biden-unveils-new-student-loan-forgiveness-plan/) focuses on providing relief to borrowers with specific situations like runaway interest, financial hardship or remaining loan balances after paying down their student loans for more than two decades — stipulations that, as the AP-NORC survey suggests, have broader public support. Barring any legal challenges, the administration expects to begin forgiving debt early this fall. According to officials, the vast majority of the relief should come automatically. At a [campaign event Tuesday](https://www.c-span.org/video/?536426-1/president-donald-trump-holds-rally-racine-wisconsin) in Wisconsin, former President Donald Trump came out against forgiving student loans, referring to Biden's attempt to cancel more debt after the Supreme Court struck down his first student loan forgiveness plan as "vile." "It's not even legal," Trump said, "and the students aren't buying it." ## Transform your financial future today! ### Owe over $20,000? Get tailored Debt Relief services from Freedom Debt Relief. Click below to get started. [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/v5ba59aed2dc?ap_referrer=%2Fmedical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fmedical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Debt Relief", "item": "https://money.com/debt-relief/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Medical Debt vs. Student Loan Debt: Which Would You Cancel?" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/", "name": "Medical Debt vs. Student Loan Debt: Which Would You Cancel?", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-06-21T15:23:29.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-06-21T15:23:29.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Medical Debt vs. Student Loan Debt: Which Would You Cancel?", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/06/News-Medical-Debt-Student-Loan-Forgiveness.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Medical-Debt-Student-Loan-Forgiveness" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2022/01/a_adam-hardy.jpg?quality=85&w=400&h=440&crop=1", "email": "adam.hardy@money.com", "jobTitle": "Lead Data Reporter", "alumniOf": "University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism", "subjectOf": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/", "name": "The Penny Hoarder" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/advisor/", "name": "Forbes Advisor" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://creativeloafing.com/", "name": "Creative Loafing" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/biden-trump-harris-2024.html", "name": "The New York Times" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/26/flexible-spending-account-is-flawed-benefit/", "name": "The Washington Post" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-09-20/-100-000-h-1b-visa-fee-is-a-gamble-that-could-protect-us-jobs", "name": "Bloomberg" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2024/02/08/whoop-and-the-irs-how-tax-avoidance-helps-health/", "name": "Harvard Law School" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b#footnote-33-p60883", "name": "The Federal Register" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nclc.org/resources/what-states-can-do-to-stop-credit-reporting-abuses/", "name": "National Consumer Law Center" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/open-enrollment-irs-changes-fsa-hsa-flexible-spending-account-health-savings-account-2023/", "name": "CBS News" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/20-top-us-hospitals-for-2025-per-money/", "name": "Becker's Hospital Review" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/using-chatgpt-ai-write-cover-letters-job-applications-2023-2", "name": "Business Insider" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/04/a-major-strike-of-beef-workers-pauses-in-colorado-but-workers-say-the-fight-isnt-over/", "name": "Mother Jones" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://theweek.com/business/economy/job-market-frozen-thawing", "name": "The Week" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://fortune.com/2023/12/20/workers-lose-money-on-unused-fsa-accounts-deadlines-what-companies-should-do/", "name": "Fortune" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/liberation-day-tariffs-economy-stock-market-trump-20250401.html", "name": "The Philadelphia Inquirer" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/37955/Student_Loan_Changes_2026_New_Repayment_Options_Taxable_Forgiveness_and_More_on_the_Way", "name": "National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA)" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://eab.com/resources/blog/adult-education-blog/graduate-funding-shift-pricing-aid-strategies-aligned/", "name": "Education Advisory Board (EAB)" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://ticas.org/california/state-private-loans-protections-blog/", "name": "The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://thismorningwithgordondeal.com/b/This-Morning-with-Gordon-Deal-August-04,-2026/421564107823081285.html", "name": "This Morning with Gordon Deal" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.empower.com/the-currency/life/pumpkin-spice-season-spending", "name": "Empower" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/1va10oa/comment/p0i9bju/", "name": "Reddit" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2024-06-21T15:23:29.000Z", "description": "Most Americans think it's more important to forgive medical debt rather than student loan debt, a new University of Chicago study reports.", "abstract": "Most Americans think it's more important to forgive medical debt rather than student loan debt, a new University of Chicago study reports.", "@id": "https://money.com/medical-debt-vs-student-loan-debt-forgiveness/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-06-21T15:23:29.000Z", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "wordCount": 862, "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Personal finance", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_finance" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Debt relief", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_relief" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Student debt", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_debt" ] } ] } ] } ```