Fair Fight — a national voting rights organization founded by former Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams — announced Oct. 27 it will be eliminating $212 million of medical debt for over 108,000 people in the South through a $1.34 million donation to RIP Medical Debt.
Rye, N.Y.-based RIP Medical Debt purchases medical debt at discounted rates on the debt collection market and forgives it.
Fair Fight's donation is the third-largest in RIP Medical Debt's history and the largest centering on the South, according to Fair Fight.
Here is how the total of $212,781,818 will be distributed:
- Georgia: $123,193,570.70 in debt relief for 68,685 people
- Louisiana: $17,476,259.35 in debt relief for 8,265 people
- Alabama: $1,857,166.42 in debt relief for 1,953 people
- Mississippi: $2,350,757.12 in debt relief for 2,058 people
- Arizona: $67,904,064.13 in debt relief for 27,282 people
"I know firsthand how medical costs and a broken healthcare system put families further and further in debt," Ms. Abrams said. "Across the Sunbelt and in the South, this problem is exacerbated in states like Georgia, where failed leaders have callously refused to expand Medicaid, even during a pandemic.
"Working with RIP Medical Debt, Fair Fight is stepping in where others have refused to take action. For people of color, the working poor and middle-class families facing crushing costs, we hope to relieve the strain on desperate Americans and on hospitals struggling to remain open."
Fair Fight also promotes full Medicaid expansion.