🚑 261,000 Americans have their medical debt erased thanks to nonprofit

🚑 261,000 Americans have their medical debt erased thanks to nonprofit

A total of $550 million in medical debt has been paid off through a donation. Every $10 donated removes an average of $1,000 in debt. The organization behind the effort has erased more than $40 billion in all 50 states so far.

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  • A total of $550 million in medical debt has been paid off through a donation.
  • Every $10 donated removes an average of $1,000 in debt.
  • The organization behind the effort has erased more than $40 billion in all 50 states so far.

The effort is led by the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt. It acquires medical debt in bulk from hospitals, physician groups and collection agencies. The debt is purchased for a fraction of the original amount and then abolished. The funding comes from a multimillion-dollar donation by Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and his wife Miranda Kerr.

Ten dollars removes a thousand dollars in debt

The exact amount donated has not been disclosed. But because the debt is bought in bulk at a low price, every donated dollar has a large effect. According to the organization, every $10 removes an average of $1,000 in medical debt.

Individuals cannot apply to have their debt erased. Instead, the organization buys bundled debt covering thousands of people at once. Those who qualify either earn at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level or have medical debt that is more than 5 percent of their income.

Those whose debt has been erased will receive a letter from Undue Medical Debt starting in mid-July.

One in four adults in the US has medical debt

According to the organization's CEO Allison Sesso, one in four adults in the United States is in medical debt. Undue Medical Debt has so far erased more than $40 billion in medical debt in all 50 states.

The couple behind the donation has helped others get out of debt before. In 2022, they paid off the student loans for the entire graduating class at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

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