New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to eliminate more than $2 billion in medical debt for more than 500,000 residents.
To address what the mayor's office has identified as the number one cause of bankruptcies, Mayor Adams announced that the city will work with nonprofit organizations to buy medical debts in bulk from both hospitals and debt collectors.
The city announced it will spend $18 million over three years to partner with an organization called RIP Medical Debt. ABC News report.
“Health care costs can be economically devastating for middle-class and working-class New Yorkers,” Adams said in a statement. “Working-class families often have to choose between paying for health care and basic necessities.”
The group has previously purchased bulk government bonds for $1, reportedly targeting bonds for low-income people. The decision-making process includes finding people whose medical costs represent at least 5% of their annual household income, or who have incomes less than four times the federal poverty line.
In New York City, for a family of four, that amount would be $31,200. new york times.
There is no application process for the program, and those whose debts are forgiven simply receive a letter in the mail. If 500,000 residents benefited from the program, the $2 billion in relief would equate to $4,000 per person.
non-profit organization Website It claimed to have canceled more than $10.4 billion in debt from more than 7 million families and individuals. For example, the nonprofit reportedly eliminated more than $280 million in debt for more than 158,000 residents through a program it conducted with Cook County, Illinois. This equates to an average of just over $1,770 per person for him.
According to the 2020 report, social service associationNew York state filed more than 40,000 lawsuits against patients for unpaid debts between 2015 and 2020.
The New York Times reported that Northwell Health, the state's largest hospital system, also sued patients for unpaid debts during the coronavirus lockdown. The hospital system subsequently canceled all legal claims he filed in 2020. In December 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul as well. signed bill This prevents healthcare providers from reporting medical debt to credit agencies.
Mayor Adams added, “That $2 billion will trickle down to households that don't fall into our safety net. They don't fall into our homelessness system.”
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