Dirtbag Philadelphians led the charge to erase millions in medical debt - cities & states follow

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The final count is in. These ‘dirtbag’ Philadelphians erased more than $2M in local medical debt.​


A group of self-described mostly queer, gutter-pagan South Philadelphia dirtbags set out to erase a modest $1 million in local medical debt this summer.

Their final tally exceeded $2 million, according to the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, which helped with the logistics of the purchase. The group not only raised enough money to buy all of Philadelphia’s medical debt available on the secondary market, they were able to buy some debt from Bucks and Delaware Counties — no strings attached.

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MSN

www.msn.com
 

They raised $17K in donations, bought $2M medical debt on the secondary market, and forgave the debts.

 
Retired Colorado Rockies first baseman and Hall-of-Fame hopeful Todd Helton has found a new way to give back to the fans: By helping to free people of millions of dollars in medical debt.

Helton and the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt announced an agreement Monday that will erase over $10 million in medical bills for Colorado residents. Starting later this month, those benefiting from this gift will begin receiving letters in the mail saying that some or all of their medical debts are now "paid in full." The debts are also being eliminated as a charitable act, meaning there will be no tax ramifications for recipients.

"My good friend, Ryan 'Jume' Jumonville recently took care of $100M in medical debt for the people in his home state of Florida," Helton said in a statement. "I was inspired and wanted to do something similar for the people of Colorado."

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Former Rockies star helps clear $10M in medical debt for Coloradans

This retired MLB star has found a new way to give back to the fans: By helping to free people of millions of dollars in medical debt.
scrippsnews.com
 
Business Insider

41,000 people are about to get $240 million in medical debt cancelled thanks to an infusion of cash from Biden's pandemic aid​

  • Local governments received billions of dollars under Biden's 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.
  • Some are putting that money toward buying up people's medical debt and canceling it.
  • In Toledo, Ohio, 41,000 residents will see around $240 million in medical debt relieved.
Americans owe about $195 billion in medical debt, a 2022 analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found, with almost one in 10 owing "significant debt."

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Akron is Latest OH City to Retire Medical Debt​

Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, a number of cities and counties in Ohio and around the nation have used ARPA funding to retire medical debt.

Over the summer, Akron became the latest community in Ohio to adopt a plan to retire such debts.

The city council allocated $500,000 to purchase debts through the non-profit RIP Medical Debt. RIP in turn negotiates with hospitals and debt collectors to buy old debts for pennies on the dollar and then forgives them.

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City intends to wipe out more than $2 billion in medical debt for up to 500,000 residents, tackling a top cause of personal bankruptcy, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

New York City plans to wipe out $2 billion in medical debt for 500,000 residents

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the city intends to wipe out more than $2 billion in medical debt for up to 500,000 residents.
apnews.com
 
Non-profits wiping debt with (voluntary) donations is one thing. Local governments using (involuntary) tax money to do it is a bit different.
 

Connecticut to become first state to cancel medical debt for many residents​

Connecticut will cancel roughly $650 million in medical debt for an estimated 250,000 residents this year, becoming the first state to provide this type of relief, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday.

The effort will liberate many residents from “the cloud” over their heads and give them more freedom to buy a home, start a business or continue with their education, Lamont told CNN. That will help them strengthen their financial standing in a state with a large wealth gap.

“It’s a debt that you had no control over,” Lamont told CNN. “It’s not like you overspent. You get hit by a health care calamity.”

Residents whose medical debt equals 5% or more of their annual income or whose household income is up to 400% of the federal poverty line, or about $125,000 in 2024, are eligible.

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‘It actually happened to me’: Medical debt cancellation by local governments is real​

When Amber Clapsaddle found out that she would have about $1,500 in medical debt canceled, she cried, posted a picture of the letter with the news on Facebook and called her husband.

Clapsaddle, 44, had heard several months before about efforts in Toledo, Ohio, where she and her family live, to wipe out medical debt. At the time, she said, she was “praying that I would randomly get a bill” canceled.

So when she got the letter in the mail in October, “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I was like, ‘oh my gosh, it actually happened to me.’”

The relief came after the debt had been hanging over her family for about five years. Clapsaddle’s household engages regularly with the healthcare system because her husband and some of her children have complex medical conditions.

But it wasn’t until Clapsaddle began the years-long process of being diagnosed with and managing fibromyalgia herself that her family started to fall behind on medical bills. “I’ve always been a very responsible person to pay my bills,” she said. At the time the household incurred the bill that was ultimately canceled, for an ultrasound for her daughter, Clapsaddle was working part-time as she strove to get her own condition under control.

“I became one of those people that just put the bill in the pile but knew it was there,” she said. “It caused a lot of anxiety.” Ultimately, getting the bill canceled “was a relief,” she said.

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Pa. Could Wipe Out Up to $400M in Medical Debt Under Proposal from Gov. Josh Shapiro​

HARRISBURG — Up to $400 million in medical debt held by Pennsylvanians would be cleared under Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new budget proposal, with relief targeted at the state’s poorest and most underwater residents.

The Democrat’s pitch calls for $4 million in taxpayer money to be used to buy up obligations accrued by people who couldn’t afford necessary care such as MRIs and ambulance trips, and to forgive those unpaid bills.

Such debt, Shapiro said in his Tuesday speech before the Pennsylvania General Assembly, is “an anchor holding those families and communities back.”

“When you can’t afford to pay it off, your credit score suffers and it makes it harder to reach financial stability,” he added.

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Everything should be free ....unless you are a Republican.
 
If the pedophile gets another term, I won't be surprised if the American taxpayers weren't put on the hook for paying for Ukrainian's transgender surgeries.
 

Gov. Hobbs partners with nonprofit to eliminate $2 billion in Arizonans’ medical debt​

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Gov. Katie Hobbs announced on Monday new steps her administration is taking to tackle healthcare costs and the rising amount of medical debt impacting Arizonans.

The Governor’s Office is partnering with RIP Medical Debt and launching a program to forgive medical debt for up to 1 million Arizonans. Arizona will use up to $30 million in federal COVID-19 relief money.

RIP Medical Debt will use the cash to buy debt from providers for pennies on the dollar but instead of collecting it, the nonprofit forgives it. That means that $30 million could erase $2 billion in debt, officials said.

Eligible residents include those who make up to 400% of the poverty line or whose debt is equal to 5% of their income. For a family of four, that means if they make up to nearly $125,000, they would qualify.

Arizona’s Family has previously reported on “RIP Medical Debt” when SCAN Group, a not-for-profit health care and CareOregon, purchased approximately $110 million of Arizonan’s medical debt in the summer of 2023 to clear up collection accounts. In that instance, $345,000 was paid to debt acquisition company RIP Medical Debt, which then bought those collection accounts for pennies on the dollar.

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‘A human right, not a privilege’: Bernie Sanders announces bill to ‘cancel all medical debt’ — here’s his plan​

Bernie Sanders just introduced legislation to wipe a stunning $220 billion in medical debt held by Americans across the country.

The bill, introduced with Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, California Rep. Ro Khanna and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib — all Democrats — proposes canceling all existing medical debt, removing it from credit reports and dramatically restricting the accrual of any future medical debt.

“This is the United States of America, the richest country in the history of the world. People in our country should not be going bankrupt because they got cancer and could not afford to pay their medical bills,” Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, said in the press release.

“The time has come to cancel all medical debt and guarantee health care to all as a human right, not a privilege.”

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It's a debt jubilee (for college students and hospital patients only apparently)!

The medical (and pharma) industries in the USA are whack and government (Medicare, Patent law) is a large reason for it. Taxpayers to get hooked paying for big pharma profits (again). I'm in the wrong business apparently.
 

He wiped out $10B in medical debt. Now he’s battling veteran debt​

After launching a nonprofit that’s eliminated more than $10 billion of medical debt in the U.S., a Navy veteran is seeking to relieve the burden of debt for his fellow former service members.

Jerry Ashton leveraged his experience in the debt collection industry to launch Undue Medical Debt, formerly known as RIP Medical Debt, in 2014. By the time he stopped in 2020, the nonprofit had already bought out billions in medical debt across the county.

Now he hopes to do the same through his new organization End Veteran Debt, this time targeting fellow veterans, who he says are uniquely burdened by debt.

“The intention of End Veteran Debt is exactly that. It’s a twofold mission. One obviously is to end veteran debt and the other one is to reduce veteran suicide, which we find inseparable,” Ashton said.

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Governor Murphy Announces Elimination of $100 Million in Medical Debt for Almost 50,000 New Jerseyans​

TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today announced that thousands of eligible individuals and families across New Jersey are set to have some or all of their medical debt eliminated as part of a major initiative to make health care more affordable and accessible. By leveraging over $550 thousand in American Rescue Plan funds and partnering with Undue Medical Debt (Undue), the administration is delivering relief to 17,905 New Jersey residents who had owed $61.6 million to Prime Healthcare hospitals and an additional 31,748 residents owing more than $38.4 million to other providers through the secondary debt market, primarily collections agencies. Prime Healthcare partnered with Undue to sell qualifying, unpayable medical debts for relief.

“When someone is sick or injured, they should be able to focus on what matters most – getting better – rather than worrying about how they will pay for the life-saving care and services rendered to them. New Jerseyans should not have to scrimp and save to ensure their basic health care needs are met, or to pay down lofty medical debts resulting from tragic accidents or devastating diagnoses,” said Governor Murphy. “Medical debt accumulates very quickly and can follow a person for decades. With this strategic investment and our partnership with Undue, we are wiping the slate clean for thousands of New Jersey families, eliminating their debt, and making a real, tangible impact on their lives. Today’s announcement continues our momentum in creating a better, more affordable, and accessible health care system for all New Jersey residents.”

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The Official Website of Governor Phil Murphy

The official website of the 56th Governor of New Jersey State, Phil Murphy.
nj.gov
 
Big whoop, wasn't going to be paid anyway...now cancel student loan debt....
 
It seems to depend on whether your area is under the control of Dumbo cRat Woketards.

First, there is no provision in the Constitution or any State constitutions that I know of, empowering the government to erase/eradicate/discharge personal debts. Second, allowing that governments are within their purview...this is a clear and open violation of "Equal Protection" (equal treatment under law) auspices.

But law doesn't matter, when the Diaperman Mafia is in charge. Vote the wrong way, and you freeze to death in a tent while FEMA steals your land, which was your forefathers' land. Vote the right way, and your stupid loan student loan and medical bills are forgiven.

Are we, or are we NOT, in a banana republic, now!
 
The government steals my tax money and spends it however they chose, that sucks...
 
Fatrat said:
The government steals my tax money and spends it however they chose, that sucks...
Click to expand...
That's the truth.

It's also the failure of Constitutional government.

And it's a failure of the government in its PRIMARY task: To protect the rights of citizens EQUALLY, in accordance with law.

The failure, is proof of a now illegitimate government.

Time to do as Jefferson advised must be done with the Tree of Liberty.
 

Harris announces ruling removing billions in medical debt from credit reports​

Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that Americans will no longer be penalized for medical debt on credit reports.

The final ruling by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will remove $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of 15 million Americans.

Harris also said a handful of states and localities have leveraged American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to support the elimination of over $1 billion in medical debt for more than 700,000 Americans.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/oth...S&cvid=cf8e53a5758241969091c61f3cc0e602&ei=17
 
^^ Could get reversed after Trump's team takes over.
 
They do realize that if you don't make people pay these bills, that there is no reason to pay them and they will also go out of business.
 
Oh well, what can't be paid, won't be paid, stick on top of the National Debt and Student Loan stuff...stop all foreign aid until we take care of America first.
 
pmbug said:
^^ Could get reversed after Trump's team takes over.
Click to expand...
Bammykair could have been repealed, too.

Didn't happen, though.

Remember Reagan's words? The closest thing we'll ever see to Eternal Life on Earth, is a government program.
 
Voodoo said:
They do realize that if you don't make people pay these bills, that there is no reason to pay them and they will also go out of business.
Click to expand...
Dass da plan.

Put private lenders out of business. WHILE making it virtually mandatory to finance EVERYTHING.

In hops GOOBERMINT. If you have to buy everything with goobermint money...it's the Next-Best Thing from having goobermint OWN the Means To Produce.

My only question is, is this Crypto-Marxism, or just straight-up Fascism....?
 
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