Appalachia - RIP Medical Debt

Reviving Appalachia Through Medical Debt Relief

Every dollar you donate abolishes $100 in Medical Debt

$368
raised of $500 goal
73%
Sydney Hearst
SH
Fundraiser BySydney Hearst

This is a fundraiser to abolish medical debt for Appalachia. Give today to help those in need — no amount is too small to make an impact.

Campaign Support Recipients
Appalachia

This fundraiser supports a campaign: Appalachia.

Campaign Details

RIPMD’s total face-value abolishments in the ARC-defined region of Appalachia – $1,069,118,490.15 of medical debt In the past forty years, medical costs have doubled, insurance copays and deductibles have spiked, and bankruptcy rates have quadrupled, giving rise to burdensome medical debt. More than 60% of bankruptcies in America have medical debt as a root cause, and the situation is especially dire in Appalachia. A recent study showed that in Appalachia, out-of-pocket healthcare costs are 40% higher than the national average, and this year, almost every state in Appalachia suffered a decline in insurance coverage—sure to make things worse. Moreover, the […]

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Campaign Created ByRIP Medical Debt
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$368
raised of $500 goal
73%
  • Recent Donations
  • Donor Avatar
    Anonymous just donated $102.77
  • Donor Avatar
    MAXWELL C. just donated $250

New research on the impacts of medical debt

A new survey published by PerryUndem in 2023 shows that medical debt is a shared experience for patients across the country.

Key Findings

Patients are making tradeoffs that affect their daily lives.
  1. Nearly 7 in 10 Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they receive medical bills they cannot afford. Many are forced to delay paying the bill, put it on a credit card, or challenge the bill.
  2. 6 in 10 Six in ten patients report they have self-treated, delayed, or skipped dental and medical appointments. Thirty-four percent report changing the foods they eat or eating less food to afford health care.
People and patients feel trapped in debt and see no way out. They see medical debt as different from other forms of debt - entirely the fault of institutions and systems, and not something consumers have any control over.
  1. Nearly 50% Nearly half feel trapped and believe they will never be able to pay off their debt, while a third of respondents reported feeling heightened depression and anxiety.
  2. Nearly 9 in 10 Nearly 9 in 10 blame the health care industry for fueling the medical debt crisis - not patients themselves. They say the problem stems from the system putting profit over patients.

Join This Fundraiser

Give this fundraiser a boost towards success by helping to raise money targeted directly at those in need.

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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