Healthedly Wants to Lower Medical Debt in North Texas

The following is sponsored content by Healthedly Insurance Services, a Best of Dallas 2025 Readers’ Choice Winner.

Dallas-Fort Worth is home to some of the highest medical debt in the country, according to a 2022 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. A study by the Commonwealth Fund found that Texas also ranks second, just after Mississippi, in states with the lowest number of people with health insurance.

In a second study that same year, KFF found that more than 100 million people in the United States have medical bills that they are unable to pay; of those, 24 percent have considered petitioning for bankruptcy as a solution.

“The number one reason for bankruptcy is typically medical bills,” said Lee Bedford, director of call center operations at Healthedly. “I think that the main thing we provide is general counsel on what products are out there, what’s the best thing for clients, putting the best package solution together for them. And I think sometimes that’s where people get burned because they thought they bought the right plan, but they really didn’t understand how they could put different packages together to come out with the best solution for them and their family.”

Navigating health insurance can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. While North Texans struggle to keep themselves and their finances healthy, Healthedly Insurance Services is working to take the headache out of getting covered.

Healthedly’s Approach to Healthcare

When it comes to your health and finding coverage options to match your lifestyle and family history, piecing together a plan to fit all of your needs can prove difficult.

Should I pay a higher premium for lower co-payments? I’m healthy now, but heart conditions run in my family. Should I get covered now? My child plays a contact sport; should I opt in for a supplemental accident plan? Is it worth the hassle and cost to get covered?

These are all valid concerns, and the insurance advisors at Healthedly will answer such questions with care.

The model that Healthedly functions under is client-focused and advisor-driven: Clients are paired with advisors who help them create a plan to fit their requirements. Service is personalized to ensure that each client’s unique needs are met.

“The main thing we do is, we’re that trusted advisor,” says Bedford. “We help our clients make the right decisions. We can understand what their family situations are, what their needs are, and tailor a custom solution for them and try to fill the gaps. Not only are we trying to make sure people stay healthy, we’re also trying to make sure that people stay financially secure.”

The Importance of Health Insurance

Medical debt has historically been the nation’s leading cause of bankruptcy, followed by loss of income. As noted earlier, the residents of Dallas-Fort Worth are disproportionately burdened with medical debt compared to the rest of the country.

According to the Census Bureau, there was a significant drop in the number of Texans with public health insurance between 2023 and 2024, and debt.org reported that Texas had the fourth-highest number of bankruptcies in the nation last year, with a whopping 31,520 bankruptcy petitions.

“Many factors go into why someone files for bankruptcy,” the study elaborates. “Medical bills and loss of job or income are consistently the top reasons people give for why they file for bankruptcy. In a survey by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, 78% cited a decline in income as a reason for their bankruptcy, and 65% cited medical issues, both the cost of the bills, as well as missing work because of medical issues.”

Medical care without insurance is costly, and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that three out of four uninsured adults under age 65 say they’ve gone without needed care because of the cost.

Obtaining cost-effective health care can help alleviate or avoid the pressures of medical debt, and Healthedly’s purpose is to help people secure affordable options that adequately cover their needs.

“The goal of Healthedly is to make sure our customers have the best coverage available to them, and then we make sure that we fill the gaps,” Bedford says. “There are a lot of gaps out there. People just think of health insurance as, ‘I’ve got to get health insurance.’ But there are all kinds of ways to put that together.”