Two families donated a combined $100,000 to RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit charity that buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar to forgive it, which will be used to pay off medical debt in Central Appalachia, according to the Daily Yonder.
The money — from Jim and Sharen Branscome and Bill Bishop and Julie Ardery — will forgive $10 million in medical debt for more than 10,000 residents in eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and parts of southern West Virginia.
"Over the next two to four weeks, letters will go out to each of the gift recipients telling them that their debt has been abolished as a gift — a no-strings-attached gift from a donor," Craig Antico, a founder of RIP Medical Debt, told the Daily Yonder.
In addition to their donation, the Branscomes have organized a crowdfunding campaign that will focus on medical debt relief in the region.
Read more about the campaign here.
More articles on healthcare finance:
How 4 healthcare providers will respond to Trump's price transparency order
68% of healthcare leaders optimistic about Trump's price transparency order, survey finds
Arizona hospital apologizes for $60K billing error