City invests $18M to relieve $2B of medical debt for New Yorkers
Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that the city will invest $18 million in a three-year program to relieve $2 billion of medical debt for New Yorkers.
The program, run in partnership with city-based nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, aims to wipe out debt for up to 500,000 people. Individuals must have a household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty line or have medical debt that equals 5% or more of their annual household income to qualify for the initiative.
To relieve patients, RIP Medical Debt will purchase bundled medical debt portfolios from providers such as hospitals and commercial buyers and then erase it. Allison Sesso, the president and chief executive of RIP Medical Debt, said at the Monday press conference that the process will be application-free to ensure fewer barriers to relief. RIP Medical Debt will work with providers and hospitals around the city, purchase portfolios and run data through a debt engine to identify patients who qualify, she said, and individuals will receive letters informing them that what they owe has been erased.
https://www.crainsnewyork.com/health-care/new-york-city-invests-18m-relieve-2b-medical-debt-new-yorkers