NBC and Telemundo Owned Television Stations Group have donated $150,000 to RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit tackling the medical debt crisis in the country. RIP will use the station group’s donation to locate, buy and forgive $15 million of medical debt owed by individuals in 11 markets. “Our goal is to abolish $1 billion of […]
NBC and Telemundo Owned Television Stations Group have donated $150,000 to RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit tackling the medical debt crisis in the country.
RIP will use the station group’s donation to locate, buy and forgive $15 million of medical debt owed by individuals in 11 markets.
“Our goal is to abolish $1 billion of medical debt in 2018,” said Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton, RIP co-founders, “and we’re incredibly proud to have NBC and Telemundo owned stations as partners in helping us make this happen.”
RIP steps in to help struggling individuals and families by buying debt from medical providers and debt sellers on the debt market (for pennies on the dollar) and forgiving it.
As little as $1 donated to RIP can alleviate $100 of medical debt. The debt is removed from credit reports and can no longer be collected on.
“Medical debt can be devastating. We know this because consumers from all across the country call our consumer investigative units looking for information that can help them deal with their medical debt,” said Kevin Keeshan, NBCUniversal’s news content and standards senior vice president.
NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ consumer investigative units will report about medical debt and its effects on individuals, families and communities and what people may be able to do to alleviate their situation.
The stations will also invite viewers to join their efforts by donating to RIP.
Donations made to RIP will help the non-profit provide medical debt relief to even more individuals.
NOTE: Last month, I wrote about how KIRO, the CBS affiliate in Seattle owned by Cox, used $12,000 to pay off the medical debt of 1,000 people in their area. This was the first instance I had heard about a TV station taking such a proactive step in their market. Let’s hope this catches on and other broadcast groups and their stations see the benefits and start a campaign like this in their markets.
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions