It was announced today that the recent Davidson County campaign was able to purchase and forgive $3,296,863.64 in medical debts.
- Davidson County: 3,133 individuals totaling $2,988,937.45
- Davie County: 155 individuals totaling $192,815.53
- Yadkin County: 67 individuals totaling $115,110.66
The average medical debt forgiven was about $1,000.
When poor families cannot afford to pay their medical debts, after initial collection attempts, the debts are often sold off to third party debt collectors for a penny on the dollar or less in a practice called factoring. The third party collector then has the legal right to demand the entire amount. Some use very aggressive tactics. This is where our Debt Jubilee Project, working with RIP Medical Debt, can intervene and purchase the debts – but we forgive them rather than collecting. Watch out for the next Debt Jubilee campaign!
For more information on the Debt Jubilee Project, visit the website at debtjubileeproject.org.
