RIP Medical Debt announced a national campaign today that will forgive $250 million in medical debt across the country before the year’s end. This is the biggest medical debt abolishment in the history of the United States and was made possible by one couple’s generous donation.
RIP Medical Debt is a nonprofit that qualifies and helps groups of individuals and families by buying large portfolios of debt from medical providers and debt sellers on the debt market (for pennies on the dollar) and forgiving it. As little as $1 donated to RIP can alleviate $100 of medical debt. The debt is removed from credit reports and can no longer be collected on.
The couple responsible for the charitable donation said, “Catastrophic illness strikes people in all walks of life without warning. Paralyzing medical debt hits people when they’re down, turning tragedy to travesty. A quarter billion dollars is just the tip of the immense iceberg of debt submerging millions of Americans in a sea of hopelessness that can adversely affect the course of their illnesses, damaging their ability to recover. We only wish that we could do more. We pray for a day when disease is the only thing patients will need to fight and the one-two punch of life-threatening illness and overwhelming debt will no longer face so many of our fellow Americans.”
The debt will be forgiven in stages. $150 million will be forgiven immediately, with random recipients receiving branded RIP abolishment letters, noticeable by their yellow envelopes, by November 6th. $50 million of that debt will be for U.S. veterans and their families. The rest of the funds will power medical debt relief through the year’s end – with a $50 million mailing for Thanksgiving, and another $50 million for the holidays.
“Healthcare financing is a major crisis in the U.S. This extraordinary act will bring hope to so many people who have felt they were carrying this burden alone at a time when they need it most,” said RIP co-founders Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico.
Medical Debt Statistics
- 1 in 5 people living in the U.S. are grappling with medical debt;
- Nearly 50% of all credit card debt in the US is from medical debt;
- Medical debt contributes to 60% of all bankruptcies in America; and
- More than 40% of Americans wouldn’t be able to cover an emergency expense of $400.
