Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a non-profit service contract with
RIP Medical Debt (
RIPMD), a national 501(c)(3) organization that acquires and relieves financially burdensome
medical debt.
RIPMD buys
debt from hospitals in bundles at a fraction of its original cost.
The contract with
RIPMD will target
medical debt for Columbus residents who earn less than 400% of the federal poverty level and/or whose
medical debts comprise 5% or more of their annual income. Recipients will not face any tax obligations as
RIPMD serves as a disinterested third party and does not collect on the
debt they purchase.
Because
RIPMD can acquire
debt for less than $1 per $100 of delinquent
debt, its impact quickly adds up for families with delinquent
medical debt. For example, $1,000,000 in purchasing power could forgive $100,000,000 in
debt for Columbus residents.
RIPMD estimates that over 100,000 Columbus residents hold delinquent
medical debt, and that about 75,000 of those individuals would qualify for forgiveness under
RIPMD’s program. Based on average
debt held by individuals with delinquent
medical debt nationwide,
RIPMD estimates that Columbus residents would qualify for $180,000,000 to $200,000,000 in total
debts forgiven.
Under the contract,
RIPMD will perform outreach to area hospitals to initiate partnerships and develop agreements to buy
debt of all qualifying patients.
RIPMD will securely process patient data in accordance with HIPAA and any additional hospital privacy policies to assess which patients qualify for
debt forgiveness under their program. The City of Columbus’ contract with
RIPMD will provide the funding necessary to relieve the
medical debt of qualifying Columbus residents.
RIPMD will also relieve the
debt of qualifying individuals who do not reside in Columbus through the other philanthropic contributions they receive. The City of Columbus will provide ZIP code information to RI...
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