Medical debt destroys the financial stability of large segments of America’s most vulnerable communities: the sick, the elderly, the poor, and veterans. It also targets the middle class, driving many families who are barely getting along into poverty. Medical debt isn’t the result of bad decisions. It’s a debt of necessity.

By forgiving this debt we strive to give struggling individuals, and their families, a fresh start. We hope to give those affected the ability to seek the continued medical care they need and help them back towards financial stability.

Every day, we receive messages from people who suffer under crushing debt far beyond their financial means to pay—from the son of a stroke survivor in Kentucky whose family could not keep up with their mortgage payments, to the cancer patient in Florida whose debts made it impossible for her to continue with necessary treatment. Rising healthcare costs and endless bills are leaving families with nowhere to turn.

RIP uses donors’ funds to wipe out medical debt from the neediest cases up. 

Once we’ve pinpointed the portfolios for those in or near the poverty level, we buy up their debt and forgive it. Then we send forgiveness notices to the benefiting families, and subsequently help the recipients repair their credit reports—renewing their access to opportunities and resources that will allow them to rebuild and recover.