These Local Governments Are Using Federal Aid to Cancel Medical Debt

Two hands reach up to a heart with a medical cross inside it

From Oscar Perry Abello / Next City: With funding from city governments, the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt acquires and cancels medical debt by negotiating directly with hospitals. The only requirement is being under 400% of the federal poverty line and no application is necessary.

Click here to read the full story on Next City.

More Resources:

From Katharine Houreld / The Washington Post: GiveDirectly runs a program that gives a lump sum of cash directly to those in need, without needing to qualify with other specifications (such as school enrollment or vaccination status). Lump sum funds...

From Rhitu Chatterjee / NPR: A unique program in Bogotá called Manzanas del Cuidado (Care Blocks) provides free activities and services to unpaid caregivers in local neighborhoods. These services span everything from wellness classes to professional training to educational courses....

From Nate Berg / ENSIA: North Carolina’s Roanoke Electric Cooperative is helping members bring down energy costs. Because the energy costs in this area is due to a lack of energy efficiency, the cooperative offers tariffed on-billing to help homes...

Erinch Sahan is the business and enterprise lead at the Doughnut Economics Action Lab. Recently, he was the chief executive of the World Fair Trade Organization and previously spent 7 years at Oxfam leading campaign initiatives and founded Oxfam’s Future...

From Oscar Perry Abello / Next City: With funding from city governments, the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt acquires and cancels medical debt by negotiating directly with hospitals. The only requirement is being under 400% of the federal poverty line and...

Romain Sepehr Vakilitabar is the founder of Pathos Labs, a non-profit laboratory focused on exploring ways in which entertainment and media can rewrite harmful narratives and change culture. One such project is PopShift, an initiative that convenes Hollywood’s leading TV...

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you agree to our use of cookies. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.