United States

1,500 D.C.-Area Residents Learning Their Medical Debt Has Been Paid

More than 668,000 people in the D.C. area owe a total of more than $600 million in medical debt

More than 1,500 people in the D.C. area are receiving letters informing them their medical debt has been paid.

Almost $700 million in medical debt sits in collections in the area. It’s the biggest cause of bankruptcy in the country.

HELP PAY IT FORWARD

The television stations owned by NBC Universal, including NBC4, made a donation to a nonprofit organization called RIP Medical Debt. That donation will forgive more than $1.5 million in medical debt for people in the D.C. area.

“It's been amazing,” RIP Medical Debt cofounder Craig Antico said. “And you know what it is? It's the communities. The communities are coming together for each other.”

Since the NBC donation, NBC4 viewers donated more than $3,400.

“People can actually give $10 and can abolish $1,000 of medical debt that they didn't even know their neighbor had,” Antico said.

Whose debt will be forgiven is based on RIP's eligibility criteria.

NBC4 would love to hear from anyone who receives a letter this week.

Below is a form provided by RIP Medical Debt so you can safely contribute to them. Your money goes to the charity, not NBC4. You can get more information about the charity and how it works here.

HELP PAY IT FORWARD

NBC is not collecting or receiving any information provided in the fields below. This goes directly to the charity.

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Other resources for medical debt assistance:

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