transplant was rescheduled for last week. but despite being extremely cautious and fully vaccinated, peter tested positive for covid, and the surgery was postponed again. >> my hope is that i can get through this, get myself better so i can enjoy my family. >> our hope is that we can find a good time that also we can help dad out because my boys absolutely love him. >> reporter: so this family can get back to doing what they love together. bradley blackburn, cbs news, new york. in other medical news, it turns out the high cost of health care is driving thousands of americans into bankruptcy. a recent study found that more than half of all bills in collection right now are from medical care. anna werner reports. >> reporter: florida resident chad kisch's medical debt story began with severe pain from herniated disks in his neck last

year. >> i really couldn't get out of bed for more than a few minutes. >> reporter: doctors told the 39-year-old, who runs his own small pest control business, that he would need surgery. insurance would cover it, and then went ahead. >> the pain was excruciating. that is probably the most pain i've ever been through. >> reporter: but afterwards, he got stuck with a bill for a facility charge he says the insurance company refused to pay, $145,000. he says the hospital then demanded payments of $1500 a month. >> i told them that can't happen. can we go with something lower. and they said no. so i just stopped answering their calls. >> reporter: when he couldn't pay, the hospital sued him. >> it's just one of those things that hits you in the gut, and oh, boy, now what do i do. and why it is happening to me? >> reporter: he is not alone. a new jama study finds medical bills are the largest source of american debt, with a record $140 billion in collections owed

last year. nearly twice the previous estimate. it's all about the medical bills? >> it's sort of a uniquely american phenomenon. >> reporter: stanford professor neale mahoney says prices are often higher for people living in states who chose not to expand medicaid under affordable care act. >> the fact that the health care system which is supposed to heal people is creating half of debt and collections in the united states is something that i think is quite distressing. >> reporter: one of those states is wisconsin, where 38-year-old alissa gummow lives. >> i felt like a criminal, like i was doing something wrong. >> reporter: last october, a man showed up at her front door in kenosha with a court summons. she was being sued for unpaid medical bills. did you ever think that you would be in the financial situation you're in because of medical bills? >> never. it makes me feel like a failure. >> reporter: and it's the second

time. back in 2017, a $50,000 bill for hip surgery forced her into bankruptcy, despite having a full-time job. >> you know, middle class americans, we get the short end of the stick. it's -- it's not fair. >> reporter: this time, the single mom has a job that pays more, but not enough to pay new bills not covered by her high deductible insurance plan. >> this is lisa from america -- i'm a debt collector. >> reporter: debt collectors call day and night. she is now on a payment plan, but says the extra $193 a month bill often leaves her choosing between prescriptions and groceries. >> i sit at my computer, and try, you know, balance my bills, and i just want to give kisch says he was able to negotiate his bill down with a self-paid discount, but is still on the hook for roughly $50,000,

and now he'll be paying $125 a month until it's gone, which will take some 33 years. >> very, very frustrating, and i don't think i should be paying the amount i have to pay. >> our colleague anna werner reporting. if you have a storying medical bills and you would like to tell us about it, send a bill to health costs@cbs news.com.

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nasa is warning of a possible disaster in orbit. it turns out there is so much space junk flying around the earth that it's got satellites and even the international space station in some danger. david pogue has the story. >> reporter: if you're going to be a character in a space movie -- >> harvey, keep your eyes shut and exhale slowly! >> reporter: you got to watch out for space junk. everyone knows that. it seems to happen a lot. >> debris from the missile strike has caused a chain reaction, hitting other satellites and creating new debris. >> reporter: but what not everyone knows is that plot twist isn't fiction anymore. >> i got a call from my chief satellite officer who said we've lost track of our satellite

vehicle number 33 somewhere over siberia. it may have been hit by something. >> reporter: matt desh is the ceo of iridium, whose 66 satellites provide voice and data connections for governments, companies, air traffic and shipping. in 2009, a defunct russian satellite crashed into one of iridium's. so how bad was the well, it co our satellite. >> reporter: the iridium disaster was a wake-up call for the space industry. >> there is estimated to be like 130 million tiny pieces smaller than the size of your thumb out there. and at 17,000 miles an hour, they can do damage. >> reporter: the litter in low earth orbit has become a constant danger to the international space station. in may, astronauts there discovered a hole in the station's giant robotic arm. fortunately, the arm still works, but it was a lucky strike this time. >> the air force, the space force are constantly monitoring

the debris in low earth orbit. >> reporter: i spoke to astronauts victor glover and mike hopkins in whierpa n. ometim have t the station. sometimes we don't. so it is a constant something that we're always worrying about up here and something that we have to be mindful of. >> reporter: and if there is no time to move the space station? >> then you have to take shelter, get in basically your rescue vehicle and be prepared to desport the station. >> reporter: peggy woodson has spent more time in space than any american. >> my second flight i think we had to do one debris avoidance maneuver. and we did three or four on my last one. there is a greatly increasing number of objects out there. >> there is an old saying that space is big. not anymore. it's getting smaller and smaller epn cress a specialbris. likeany abthss kes was

an enginee at , and h edicted thatebris d wld cde i think in 50 years, if we don't do something, probably the delicious's going to be so great it's not even worth putting satellites up there. we definitely don't want to do that. >> reporter: so what are the proposals for cleaning up our act up there? >> there are many proposals right now. unfortunately, none of them are feasible. >> reporter: but that doesn't mean people aren't trying. in 2018, an experimental european satellite called the remove debris successfully ensnared a fake piece of debris in a net. and a start-up called astroscale has devised several approaches to cleaning up space junk. >> none of us think this is going to be easy, but we all know it has to be done. >> reporter: chris blackerbee is chief operating officer. in march they launched else da d designed to capture any piece of space junk that was fitted with a special magnetic plate.

this summer, it will try to grab a fake dead satellite. >> there is an arm that is going to extend out that has magnets on the end of it. and it's going to go and attach to that satellite. >> reporter: but even if you can get all the technology to work, and even if you can figure out a which to pay for it, how much of the problem can astroscale really fix? >> we're never going remove every piece of debris, but we think we can put a significant reduction on the risk of future operations in orbit by taking these steps up. >> reporter: iridium's matt desh isn't convinced by those efforts. >> technology can help. unfortunately, it can't help soon and can't help in a big way. there is really no business case for that in the near term to make a big dent in space. >> reporter: meanwhile, our primary satellite traffic lanes are about to get more crowded. companies like elon musk's star link are in the process of launching mega constellations, thousands of tiny satellites designed to provide internet service all over the world.

>> many other governments in the world have plans to create their own mega constellations. and there aren't rules of the road for all of us to work together effectively. there is not each the simplest thing of ensuring people don't fly at the same altitude. you're just asking for problems. >> reporter: well, if you could wave your magic wand and solve the problem, what would be the piece of the solution look like? >> we think the most important thing is don't create any more while we're still trying to figure out a technical solution for it. so if you have a problem with a satellite, don't launch another one. another thing that's really important is there has to be a lot of more cooperation and coordination between everyone who is in space. everybody has to communicate the information. you can imagine proposition the russians and chinese have a problem coordinating given all the information about their satellite locations to the u.s. air force. >> reporter: in a way, this is sort of an age old human story, whether it's us dumping plastic or us dumping chemicals or us burning fossil fuels.

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that works for you. it's just like cooking, when it's time, it's time. time to screen. a company in france has designed a new exoskeleton. it allows paralyzed people to walk upright. it's called the wander craft. ian lee talked to its inventor. >> reporter: it's the pride every parent feels when their child takes their first steps. for jean-louis stanza, that came later than most. his son has a genetic condition that prevents him from walking. my son told me one day, dad, you're a robotics engineer. why don't you make one that can help me walk?coza'sreat srtit command. robot, s up. exoskeleton not only supports oscar's weight, but simulates body movement.

"it's new for me," he says. "i no longer need assistance to move so i feel independent." many companies are racing to ditch the wheelchair and get people walking. wondercraft is the latest. this is exciting news for people like kevin piet. a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed a decade ago. "this has huge benefits for me physically, but also emotionally and socially," he says. and that may be the best advancement of all, giving someone a feeling of freedom. ian lee, cbs news. >> and that is the "overnight news" for this thursday. for some of you, the news continues. for over, please check back later for "cbs this morning." and of course you can follow us online any time at cbsnews.com. that's where you can find my podcast, by the way. it's called the takeout. our timely guest this week, u.s. surgeon general dr. vivek murthy. reporting from the nation's capital, i'm major garrett.

up good morning. this is cbs news flash. i'm tom hanson in new york. america is diversifying faster than ever. new data shows in the past decade, the latin american grew by 10.5 million. seven men, five women have been set. kelly was charged with abusing women and girls for two decades. the trial goes forward next week. and this iconic game show has two new hosts? what is "jeopardy!"? mark richards and mayim bialik

will split duties. for more news, it's thursday, august 12th, 2021. this is the cbs morning news. covid in the classroom. outbreaks are forcing students back home once again, as the fight continues over mask mandates. brutal heat, extreme weather is baking both coasts of the u.s. how long the scorching temperatures will last. culture change. the next governor of new york is promising reform. how she is already distancing herself from the embattled governor andrew cuomo. good morning. good to be with you. i'm ann marie green. new protection is on the way for