CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atrium Health announced it plans to cancel liens placed on homes and real estate of people struggling to pay off their medical debt.
The announcement is part of a multi-year approach to relieving debt as Atrium previously announced it wouldn't file lawsuits to collect unpaid medical bills. Atrium Health had been facing backlash from people who said it wasn't right for the hospital system to take patients to court.
"I am glad that Atrium is finally doing the right thing by canceling medical debt and the punishing liens they have put on people's homes," State Treasure Dale Folwell said in a statement. "Unfortunately, it comes after many lives have already been ruined and thousands were thrown into generational poverty."
Atrium's decision was announced just days after NBC News reported that a Charlotte man owed Atrium Health $23,000 for his wife's cancer treatment. When Terry Belk couldn't pay, he signed a deed of trust with Atrium, allowing him to pay $23,000 after selling his home.
"They was threatening lawsuits and judgments and ruining our credit," Belk said. "It's like an albatross around my neck."
Meanwhile, Gov. Roy Cooper negotiated with hospitals to eliminate $4 billion in debt for Medicaid beneficiaries going back to 2014. But Belk said his debt is too old to qualify for the relief. And now he owes $8,000 for his own prostate cancer treatment.