Medical Debt Is Being Erased in Ohio and Illinois. Is Your Town Next?

Officials in Toledo and other U.S. cities are finalizing plans to create programs for paying off the medical debt of eligible residents, part of a new strategy to address the high cost of health care.

More local governments are likely to follow as county executives and city councils embrace a new strategy to address the high cost of health care. They are partnering with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that aims to abolish medical debt by buying it from hospitals, health systems and collections agencies at a steep discount.“What we need in this country is universal health care, clearly,” said Toni Preckwinkle, the president of the Board of Commissioners in Cook County.

To be eligible for debt relief through RIP Medical Debt, people must have a household income up to 400% of the federal poverty level, or about $111,000 for a family of four, or have medical debts that exceed 5% of their annual income. People cannot apply to be considered for debt relief, and they do not pay taxes on the purchase of their debt. RIP Medical Debt analyzes debt portfolios to determine who qualifies.

Michele Grim, who joined Toledo’s City Council in January, pushed for some of the city’s $180 million in American Rescue Plan funds to be used for medical debt relief after she read about the Cook County initiative. One council member who opposed the plan was George Sarantou, who said that he voted against it because his top funding priority was public safety, including upgrading city fire stations and police vehicles. While Sarantou said he was not opposed to medical debt relief, he was concerned about state funding for cities and villages, which is expected to be 1.66% of Ohio’s 2022-23 budget. “Ohio has the money,” he said. “Toledo does not.

In partnership with RIP Medical Debt, Yin is studying how the group’s work affects people’s livelihoods. “I believe there are some positive effects economically, but it might be more muted compared to the face value of the debt that is being forgiven,” he said.

“What we need in this country is universal health care, clearly,” said Toni Preckwinkle. Hospitals ran like DMVs, NO THANKS! no tosocialism

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