Thousands of qualifying Columbus residents could soon see their outstanding medical debt abolished.
Columbus City Council is set to vote Monday night to authorize $2 million in American Rescue Plan dollars to contract with RIP Medical Debt.
The non-profit uses donated funds to buy bundled debt from hospitals in large bundled portfolios at a fraction of the original cost.
"So that basically means $1, donated to the nonprofit on average tends to abolish $100 of medical debt," RIPMD spokesman Daniel Lempert said.
Anyone who earns below four times the federal poverty level, or for whom a medical debt is 5% or more of their gross annual income is automatically eligible, Lempert said. No application is needed.
"They don't have to do a thing. They don't have to lift a finger. They just get a letter in the mail saying this debt or these debts have been abolished and you're free and clear," Lempert said.
Lempert said there's a racial equity component to their work. 23 percent of communities of color in Franklin County have medical debt in collections, compared to 12%of white communities, according to data from the Urban Institute.
