26 for 26 - RIP Medical Debt

Help Abolish Medical Debt Today

Every dollar you donate forgives $100 in Medical Debt

$3,242.30
raised of $5,000 goal
64%
Donate by Check
Campaign Created ByEli Yorio

Imagine being forced to choose between saving your own life or the life of a loved one and paying your rent or purchasing food for your family. For many in central Texas, there is no need to imagine. With medical costs rising at an exponential rate, paying off medical bills is insurmountable for many Texans. According to a recent study conducted by Kaiser Health News and NPR, more than 100 million Americans suffer from the burden of unpaid medical debt and Texas has the highest percentage of people struggling to pay their medical bills, a problem only exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, around 22% of Texans have outstanding medical debt and in Travis County alone, there are millions of dollars in unpaid medical debt which burdens families and leads to financial and mental stress. 

My dad is an oncologist and for years I have heard him talk about patients who are forced to choose between paying for medications and procedures costing upwards of tens of thousands of dollars and paying for food, housing and clothing. These stories always nagged at me and recently I began researching how to help.  

Through my research I came across RIP Medical Debt. RIP directly abolishes outstanding medical debt by purchasing bundled medical debt portfolios from the secondary debt market and hospitals, and then forgives that debt at pennies on the dollar through donations from charitable organizations and everyday donors like you and me. On average, every $1 donated to RIP is leveraged to eliminate around $100 dollars of medical debt. When debt relief recipients open a yellow envelope from RIP, they are told that their debt has been bought by a third party and erased with no strings attached. They owe nothing on the debt and face no tax penalty. They are free to focus on living their lives without the overwhelming burden of their medical debt hanging over them.

I want to be a part of the solution by eliminating outstanding medical debt in my community, and so I have created the 26 for 26 campaign. My goal is to relieve $2.6 million dollars of medical debt in Travis County by 2026, the year I graduate high school, and I am hoping you might be willing to help by donating $26 (or more) toward this goal. All money raised through my campaign will stay in Travis County to help our neighbors in Austin and surrounding areas. Furthermore, all donations are tax deductible.

If you have any questions about my campaign, I would love to answer them for you. Thank you for considering partnering with me and participating in my 26 for 26 campaign.

Campaign Support Recipients
Travis County, Texas
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$3,242.30
raised of $5,000 goal
64%
Donate by Check
  • Recent Donations
  • Donor Avatar
    Jamie T. just donated $27.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Annabel M. just donated $27.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Alicia C. just donated $106
  • Donor Avatar
    Shelley B. just donated $32.10
  • Donor Avatar
    Ainsley M. just donated $27.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Austin B. just donated $27.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Laura C. just donated $26.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Chris M. just donated $27.80

Fundraise for This Campaign

Start a fundraiser to help those in need. Set a personal fundraising goal and track online donations easily with RIP.

How RIP Works

Over a hundred million Americans, one in three, struggles with the weight of medical debt.

  • You make a donation

    We use data analytics to pinpoint the debt of those most in need: households that earn less than 4x the federal poverty level (varies by state, family size) or whose debts are 5% or more of annual income.

  • RIP buys medical debt at a steep discount

    We buy debt in bundles, millions of dollars at a time at a fraction of the original cost. This means your donation relieves about 100x its value in medical debt.

  • Together we wipe out medical debt

    People across the country receive letters that their debt has been erased. They have no tax consequences or penalties to consider. Just like that, they’re free of medical debt.


Frequent Questions

Yes. We are a 501(c)(3) charity and your donation is 100% tax deductible.


Relevant Documents:

When we purchase a portfolio of medical debt, we abolish debt for individuals who:

  • Earn less than 4x the federal poverty level (varies by state, family size).
  • Debts are 5 percent or more of annual income.

We only buy debt that has been pre-qualified by our partners to meet at least one of these criteria. 

We never collect on debt we purchase, only relieve it.

No. With your help, we abolish medical debt permanently. Recipients have no adverse tax consequences, obligations, or strings attached.

For those whose medical debts are relieved, the relief is a gift from a detached and disinterested third party (RIP) as an act of generosity, so relief of the debt does not count as income to the debtor. We will not file a Form 1099-C with the IRS.

Due to HIPAA laws, RIP Medical Debt cannot disclose the names, contact information or any other specific details of the debt relief beneficiaries.

RIP Medical Debt cannot relieve debt by individual request.

While we would love to help everyone who needs assistance, RIP Medical Debt cannot abolish medical debt for specific individuals. We approach the problem of medical debt by acquiring large portfolios of debt to help thousands of people at once.

Because medical debt affects so many people who may not have debt accounts in the portfolios we purchase, we have compiled a list of resources that may be able to help in ways RIP Medical Debt cannot.

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