More Medical-Debt Forgiveness

[lpetrich]

A little over a year ago: Toledo OH city council moves to forgive medical debt | Internet Infidels Discussion Board

Followup:
Toledo, Ohio, Relieving $240 Million in Medical Debt With Biden Funds - Sep 19, 2023, 6:32 AM PDT
and
I-TEAM: Medical debt forgiveness arrives for area patients - Nov. 20, 2023 at 3:02 PM PST
and
City of Toledo receives bill in medical debt forgiveness program - Feb. 2, 2024 at 1:02 PM PST


Homepage - RIP Medical Debt - bragging about a 100:1 efficiency in forgiving medical debt: each $1 forgives $100 in debt. That is from buying the debt and then forgiving it.


I can't find anything more recent than this, however:
Stacey Abrams group donates $1.34M to pay people's medical debts : NPR - Updated October 27, 20214:16 PM ET

 

[lpetrich]

Connecticut to become 1st state to cancel medical debt for eligible residents: Exclusive - ABC News - February 2, 2024, 8:27 AM - "Some 250,000 residents are expected to be eligible, the state said."

CT Governor Ned Lamont announced his plan on "Good Morning America"

The state plans to erase approximately $1 billion in medical debt this year by leveraging $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, it said.

"This is not something they did because they were spending too much money, this is something because they got hit with a medical emergency," Lamont told "GMA." "They should not have to suffer twice -- first with the illness, then with the debt."

...
Residents whose household income is up to 400% of the federal poverty line (for a family of four, that's $124,800 annually) or whose medical debt equates to 5% or more of their annual income will be eligible under the program, the state said.

State agencies will do all the work without anyone having to apply for action on their debts.

More than 1 in 10 Connecticut residents have medical debt in collections, according to the state.

Medical debt is the leading source of collections debt for Americans -- greater than credit cards, personal loans, utilities and phone bills combined -- according to a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report.

 

[lpetrich]

Connecticut to become 1st state to cancel medical debt for eligible residents: Exclusive - ABC News

As governments look to address the issue, cities and counties nationwide are using American Rescue Plan funds to provide medical debt relief. According to the White House, $16 million in the stimulus funds are being used to purchase and wipe out nearly $1.5 billion in medical debt in communities nationwide, including New Orleans; Pittsburgh; Toledo, Ohio; and Cook County, Illinois, home to Chicago.

Mayor Adams to Relieve Over $2 Billion in Medical Debt for Hundreds of Thousands of New Yorkers | City of New York

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan today announced a pioneering medical debt relief program, that will invest $18 million over three years to relieve over $2 billion in medical debt for hundreds of thousands of working-class New Yorkers. Medical debt – the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States – disproportionately affects uninsured, under-insured, and low-income households, and the city's program would wipe out debt for up to 500,000 New Yorkers on a one-time basis. The city will partner with RIP Medical Debt, a national, New York City-based nonprofit specializing in buying and ultimately wiping out medical debt to acquire debt portfolios and retiree debt from health care providers and hospitals across New York City. Affected New Yorkers will then be notified that their medical debt has been relieved; there is no application process for this program. The one-time debt relief program, the largest municipal initiative of its kind in the country, will launch in early 2024 and run for three years.

ABC News again: "In other measures addressing the burden of medical debt, Colorado last year passed a law removing medical debt from credit reports -- becoming the first state to enact such legislation."

From the Washington State Office of the Attorney General: AG Ferguson: Providence must provide $157.8 million in refunds and debt relief for unlawful medical charges to low-income Washingtonians | Washington State

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that Providence, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, must forgive more than $137 million in medical debt and refund more than $20 million to patients the company billed for services despite knowing they likely qualified for free or reduced-cost health care. The $157.8 million resolution will provide full refunds, plus interest, and debt forgiveness for 99,446 individuals. It is the largest resolution of its kind in the country.

 

[lpetrich]

Arizona Erases Medical Debt For Nearly 1 Million Residents, Prompting Nationwide Credit Score Updates

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, as documented by Business Insider, recently revealed a partnership with the nonprofit group, RIP Medical Debt. Facilitated by $30 million from the American Rescue Plan, this initiative aims to eradicate medical debt for Arizona’s residents. According to Jeff Smedsrud, a board member of RIP Medical Debt, this wholesale relief is equivalent to roughly $2 billion in medical debt, marking it as the “largest public-private initiative ever” of this nature in the U.S.

Impacted residents will promptly receive notifications regarding this significant removal from their medical bills. Their credit scores also will be automatically revised to echo this relief.

One's income must be less than 4 times the poverty line, or else one's medical expenses must be more than 5% of one's income.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont recently forgave $650 million in medical debt, helping some 250,000 residents.

 

[lpetrich]

More on the way?

Murphy plan to help people clear medical debt | NJ Spotlight News - April 24, 2023 - "State would partner with nonprofit that pays off medical bills"

Medical debt impacts at least 1 in 5 New Jerseyans, state officials have said, leaving some of them — many of whom are people of color — struggling to pay for food, heat and other necessities or hesitating before they seek other health care.

To reduce that burden, Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed using $10 million to build a New Jersey-based program with a grant to a national nonprofit that buys and retires the medical debt for low-income Americans. The model is now being deployed with public dollars in a growing number of communities nationwide and Murphy said the initiative could help tens of thousands of New Jersey residents clear their charges with hospitals and other medical providers. If approved as part of the budget process, it could be the first statewide publicly funded program of its kind.

Could NJ residents get better protection against medical debt? | NJ Spotlight News - January 11, 2024 - "The governor’s proposals include more transparency in billing and delayed debt collection"

 

[lpetrich]

Ingham County Takes Action to Erase Medical Debt for More Than 20,000 Residents > Ingham County

The Board of Commissioners approved using $250,000 in county funds, along with the same amount in state matching funds, to contract with RIP Medical Debt, a national charity that acquires patients’ medical debt from medical providers for about one penny on the dollar — and then absolves it.

RIP Medical Debt now has a new name: Undue Medical Debt — Donor-powered medical debt relief, liberating everyday people. - "Every $10 donated relieves $1,000 on average of undue medical debt for families in financial need." and bragging about relieving more than $13 billion in medical debt.

Who qualifies for medical debt relief? — Undue Medical Debt

When we purchase a portfolio of medical debt, we abolish debt for individuals who:

• Earn 4x or below the federal poverty level
• Have medical debt that is 5 percent or more of their annual income.

We only buy debt that meets at least one of these criteria.

We never collect on debt we purchase, only relieve it.

 

[lpetrich]

Governments can erase your medical debt for pennies on the dollar — and some are • Stateline - February 13, 2024 5:00 am - "Some states and cities will use federal money to forgive millions of dollars of their residents’ medical debt."

In many cases, the money people owe to health care providers forces them to cut spending on food or utilities, forgo other medical care or take on even more debt. Medical debt can make it impossible to buy a home, pay for college or save for retirement.

To address the problem, Connecticut, New Jersey and a growing list of counties and cities are using public money to purchase and forgive millions of dollars of their residents’ medical debt. Earlier this month, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, unveiled a budget proposal that would set aside $4 million to purchase and pay off the debt of Pennsylvanians with low incomes. A disproportionate number of the 1 million state residents who owe money to health care providers live in rural areas, according to Shapiro.

...
Americans owe at least $195 billion in unpaid health care bills, according to a 2022 analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by KFF, a health policy research organization. Black residents, residents of Southern states — many of which have not expanded Medicaid — and people with chronic conditions or low incomes are most likely to owe money to medical providers. Nearly a quarter of households with children have unpaid health care bills, compared with 17% of those without children.

Berneta Haynes, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, noted that even people with health insurance can fall into medical debt when they can’t afford to pay deductibles or copayments or they receive care outside of their insurer’s network of providers. About half of adults with medical debt say they owe less than $2,500, according to KFF.

 

[lpetrich]

Press Call by Vice President Harris Announcing New Action on Medical Debt | The White House
and
FACT SHEET: Vice President Harris Announces Proposal to Prohibit Medical Bills from Being Included on Credit Reports and Calls on States and Localities to Take Further Actions to Reduce Medical Debt | The White House

Also,
Statement from Vice President Kamala Harris on North Carolina’s Medical Debt Announcement | The White House

That is why President Biden and I have already forgiven over $650 million in medical debt – part of our overall plan to forgive $7 billion by 2026 – with support from our American Rescue Plan, legislation that I was proud to advance with my tie-breaking vote in the Senate. In addition to this, soon we will make it so medical debt can no longer be included in your credit score, impacting millions of Americans. Last month, I issued a call to states, cities, and hospitals across our nation to join us in forgiving medical debt.

I applaud North Carolina for setting an example that other states can follow by advancing a plan that has the potential to relieve $4 billion in medical debt for two million individuals and families. This critical step also strengthens financial assistance for emergency medical procedures moving forward.

 

[lpetrich]

Medical Debt Could Be Removed From Credit Reports

The rule change, announced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on June 11, would prevent almost any medical debt from appearing on credit reports. In a statement, the CFPB said medical bills “have little to no predictive value when it comes to repaying other loans.“

In 2022, the three largest credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian — started removing paid medical debts from consumers’ credit reports. The following year, they stopped including outstanding balances under $500.

FICO® and VantageScore, the two major credit scoring companies, have also decreased the degree to which medical bills impact credit scores.

 

[lpetrich]

Majority of Americans favor medical debt forgiveness: AP-NORC poll | AP News - 5:19 AM PDT, June 18, 2024

Janille Williams wants to buy a house someday — but first, he has to pay down tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

“I was hospitalized for a blood infection for three months more than ten years ago, and the bill was for more than $300,000,” said Williams, 38, a Fairbanks, Alaska, resident who works as a retail sales manager for AT&T. “I was in the middle of changing jobs, the only time in my life I haven’t had health insurance.”

When the bill went to collections, the debt was eventually lowered to about $50,000, he said, an amount that was still not feasible for him to pay.

...
“They don’t give you a choice in the hospital. ‘If you leave, you’ll die,’ they told me. I didn’t feel like dying,” Williams said. “I don’t think anyone should have to go into financial ruin to live.

What a huge bill. Seems like how prescription drugs are often exorbitantly expensive.

 

[lpetrich]

Democrats were more likely to favor medical-debt relief than Republicans. The numbers are extremely or very important, somewhat important, and not very important or not important at all

• US adults - 51% - 30% - 19%
• Democrats - 65% - 26% - 8%
• Independents - 57% - 27% - 15%
• Republicans - 31% - 36% - 33%

Medical debt forgiveness for various circumstances: strongly or somewhat favor, neither favor nor oppose, strongly or somewhat oppose

• Experienced healthcare fraud, like being wrongfully billed for services - 66% - 17% - 10%
• Has made on-time payments on an existing loan for at least 20 years - 59% - 22% - 11%
• Has large amounts of medical debt compared to their income - 56% - 23% - 14%
• Is experiencing financial hardship that could prevent them from repaying their debt - 56% - 23% - 14%

About 6 in 10 people with debt from medical bills favor medical debt forgiveness if the person has large amounts of debt compared to their income, compared to about half of people without medical debt.

...
Overall, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are all similarly likely to support clearing medical debt if the person experienced fraud, the AP-NORC poll found, though Democrats are more supportive than Republicans in cases where the person is experiencing financial hardship or if the person has large amounts of medical debt compared to their income.

 

[bilby]

Governments can erase your medical debt for pennies on the dollar — and some are • Stateline - February 13, 2024 5:00 am - "Some states and cities will use federal money to forgive millions of dollars of their residents’ medical debt."

Why am I immediately reminded of this classic comment:



Everyone outside the US is not thinking "That's a terrific idea"; Nor are they thinking "Why doesn't every state do something similar to relieve medical debt for the poor".

No, we are all thinking "WTF is this 'medical debt', and how could anything so obviously both horiffic and easily avoidable ever have been allowed to arise in the first place??".