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
 
...
When hospitals or physician groups have outstanding bills they have little chance of collecting from patients, they will go to a secondary market and sell their portfolios of debt for pennies on the dollar. Debt collectors can then step in, buy the portfolios, and resume the task of hounding patients for payments.

RIP Medical Debt, founded by two former debt collectors in 2014, is in the secondary market with a completely different goal after purchase: to forgive that debt.
...
... They raised more than $17,000 by the end of August. While they couldn’t solve the systemic problem of crushing medical debt experienced by families, they could help make some of it disappear.

“It does show how fake debt is in some ways,” said Hirschberg of how cheaply they could buy millions in debt for so little.
...
Click to expand...

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

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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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scrippsnews.com

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 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.

apnews.com

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 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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