By Margaret Coker, The Current and Mollie Simon, Probulica, Georgia Public Broadcast — In February, Georgia lawmaker Josh Bonner introduced a bill that he hoped would fix a thorny problem that entangles tens of thousands of state residents in debt each...
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By T.A. DeFeo, The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square) — Georgia’s consumer protections against debt collectors are among the worst in the nation. That’s according to a new report from the National Consumer Law Center, which...
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By Margaret Coker/The Current GA, Joel Jacobs/ProPublica, with research by Mollie Simon/ProPublica — For some Georgia residents, title pawn contracts offer a quick way to obtain desperately needed cash. But poor regulation of a confusing system traps many...
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By Zach Hansen, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Experts say incarcerated people make for desirable identity theft targets A Forsyth County company that provides healthcare for people inside correctional facilities nationwide was the target of a recent...
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By Sarah C. Phillips, Senior Manager of Policy and Advocacy, Georgia Watch – Since 2021, Georgia Watch, Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF), and SOWEGA Rising have worked to protect consumers in Southwest Georgia from unaffordable medical bills and debt...
More infoBy JoAnn Merrigan, WSAV — Up to 19% of people in Georgia have a medical bill that’s in collections. “And it’s even higher among people of color, up to 21%,” says Liz Coyle from Georgia Watch.“Sometimes those debts remain on consumers’ credit reports for...
More infoBy Sarah C. Phillips, Senior Manager of Policy & Advocacy, Georgia Watch – Medical Debt in Southwest Georgia Medical debt accounts for more than half of all personal debt, affecting the lives of insured and uninsured people alike. In Georgia, where our...
More infoBy: Whitney Griggs – Georgians for a Healthy Future – In the spring of this year, Georgians for a Healthy Future, Georgia Watch, and SOWEGA Rising launched a project in Southwest Georgia to address the burden of medical debt. Southwest Georgia...
More infoJ. Laney’s car was repossessed in 2009—at the time of repossession, she owed $10,000, but she received a letter stating it had been resold and thought that was the end of it. Over a decade later, in 2021, she realized her wages had recently started being...
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By Justin Gray, WSB-TV (Watch Now) – ATLANTA — An Atlanta company that has been at the center of a series of Channel 2 Action News investigations is now being ordered by federal regulators to pay back millions of dollars to customers...
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The Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act went into effect in January, making Georgia the 16th state to have adopted comprehensive protections against surprise medical bills. Georgia Watch and Georgians for a Healthy Future advocated for...
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By Harry Samler – CBS46 (Watch Now) GRIFFIN, Ga. — A report by creditcard.com says more than half of America got itself deep into debt during last year’s pandemic. Abasi Kitt did his best to work out a payment plan. Kitt is a Marta Bus...
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