Collectively, Americans owe nearly a trillion dollars of medical debt, and Congress is trying to figure out a policy response. But in the meantime, economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on an unusual non-profit’s effort to relieve the burden of medical debt for those in need.
. . .
Paul Solman: And what almost no one knows — I certainly didn’t — is that most medical bills can be contested. As many as 80 percent have errors. They can be past the statute of limitations. And then there’s the charity care exemption.
Craig Antico: About 30 percent of the accounts that get placed for collection, they qualified for charity care. If they make less than two times the poverty level, they get it, no questions asked. But people don’t take it. Oh, no, that’s not for me.
Paul Solman: Because it’s a stigma, you mean?
Craig Antico: Because it’s a stigma. And they’re proud.
. . .
Paul Solman: And something, like half-a-cent or a penny on the dollar, RIP’s usual cost, is better than nothing.
So you’re doing like the opposite of cherry-picking. You’re taking the worst cherries.
Jerry Ashton: You know what we’re doing? We’re charity-picking.
Americans are drowning in medical debt, so this nonprofit is buying — and forgiving — it
“End Medical Debt: Curing America’s $1 Trillion Unpayable Healthcare Debt,” by Jerry Ashton, Robert Goff, and Craig Antico