22,000+ patients Trinity Health in New England medical debt will be erased after agreement with RIP Medical Debta national non-profit organization.
Based on 22,300 individuals and 39,000 delinquent accounts, Trinity Health’s statement puts the total amount of debt erased at $32.76 million. Relief does not include Medicare or Medicaid debt.
RIP Medical Debt acquires and clears medical debt from those in financial hardship and notifies those affected in writing. RIP contracts with the healthcare system. Individuals may not request RIP to erase their debts.
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St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is part of Trinity Health of New England. (coolant file photo)
“Our mission and core values are to care for the whole person – body, mind and spirit,” Montez Carter, president and CEO of Trinity Health, said in a statement. challenges past patients on all three levels.”
Carter said the partnership with RIP “allows these patients to be discharged of their medical debt to Trinity Health Of New England, while recovering some of that debt to provide the care they and their communities need.” can continue to be provided in a responsible and sustainable manner.”
According to Kaiser Family Foundation 2022 Analyzing government data“Almost one in ten (9%) adults, or about 23 million, owe medical bills,” according to the WHO, including “11 million with debts of $2,000 or more, $10,000. It was estimated that 3 million people with more than 3 million debts were included.
In addition, the Foundation found that among racial and ethnic groups, “black adults (16%) compared with white (9%), Hispanic (9%), and Asian American (4%) adults. %) reported having medical debt.”
For RIP to eliminate medical debt, patients must meet two criteria. Personal or family income must not exceed four times the federal poverty level or personal medical debt must be at least 5% of gross annual income. The 2022 federal poverty guidelines were $13,590 a year for an individual and $4,720 for each additional family member.
According to the statement, RIP does not seek to collect money from persons whose debts have been discharged. state.
“Working directly with a provider like Trinity Health of New England is an amazing win-win-win scenario,” said Allison Ceso, RIP President and CEO, in a statement. “Our valued hospital partners are compensated for a portion of the care they provide (no need to sell accounts to debt collectors), patients are freed from the financial and emotional burden of unpayable debt, and as a result , the community will be uplifted.”
According to the release, the top five counties affected are Hartford, New Haven, Tolland, Hampden County, Massachusetts, and Litchfield, accounting for $27.1 million. These county debts account for her $27.1 million in total. Letters will be sent out this week, but it may take up to two months to reach all affected patients.
Unpaid medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcies in the United States, with $195 billion in debt, the statement said. Half of Americans unexpectedly couldn’t pay his $500 medical bills.
White House pointed out in February The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had published the report “The number of Americans with health care debt on their credit reports fell by 8.2 million from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2022.” According to the White House, this was in part due to an increase in the number of Americans getting insurance during this period.
In another complication of the poll-based data, the Kaiser Foundation said, “The unequal consequences of health care debt are evident in the findings.
“Among people who are in debt due to medical or dental bills, low-income people and people of color (especially blacks) are contacted by tax collectors for medical debt and then denied. are more likely to report experiences such as being cared for and making difficult sacrifices such as changing housing conditions to pay off debts.” Foundation reported.
Trinity Health of New England consists of St. Francis Hospital and Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford. Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs. St Mary’s Hospital, Waterbury. Mercy Medical Center, Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital, Brightside for Family and Children in Springfield, Massachusetts. New England Medical Group Trinity Health,
For more information, trinityhealthofne.org/rip-debt.
Contact Ed Stannard at: estanard@courant.com.
