New York City Forgives Medical Debt for 500,000 Residents in $2 Billion Relief Program

About 500,000 New York City residents will have their medical debt forgiven thanks to a partnership between the mayor’s office and the nonprofit organization “RIP Medical Debt”.

As announced yesterday by Mayor Eric Adams, the program allows you to purchase unpaid medical debt from hospitals at a deep discount and then pay it off. The city will invest $18 million to relieve more than $2 billion in medical debt of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.

There is no application process for the single debt relief program. The beneficiaries will be notified by a letter sent by mail within a period that will begin now and will last three years.highlighted CBS News.

“No New Yorker should have to choose between paying rent or other essentials and paying their medical debt.”

Eric Adams – Mayor of New York

The program is aimed at New Yorkers whose unpaid medical bills represent at least 5% of their annual family income or those in households with incomes less than four times the federal poverty line, which is $31,200 for a family of four.

“No one chooses to incur medical debt; If you are sick or injured, you need to seek care. But no New Yorker should have to choose between paying rent or other essentials and paying his or her medical debt,” Adams said. it’s a statement.

Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States and disproportionately affects low-income populations and those who are uninsured or underinsured.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation in December that prohibits health care professionals and ambulance providers from reporting medical debt to credit agencies.

RIP Medical, a New York charity founded in 2014, has abolished more than $10.4 billion dollars in medical debt for more than 7 million people since its inception, according to its website.

Allison Sesso, president and CEO of RIP Medical Debt, explained that they get data from hospitals on people who can’t pay and then “we identify all the people who are at 400% poverty or less, or if the debt is 5% or more of income, we alleviate those debts.”

“Many hospitals work with us because they recognize that this is a problem they are also dealing with,” added Sesso, quoted by Pix11.

2024-01-23 14:19:42
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