Eliminating medical debt for hundreds of residents could look like a frightening process, however Somerville City Councilor Willie Burnley Jr. is up for the problem.
Burnley is main the cost by requesting metropolis officers take into account allocating $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to staff up with RIP Medical Debt, a nationwide nonprofit that abolishes medical debt throughout the nation.
If authorized by Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, the $200,000 allocation is estimated to achieve 5,000 of Somerville’s roughly 80,000 residents as early as this summer time, wiping out $4.3 million in debt, Burnley instructed the Herald on Tuesday.
To be eligible, Somerville residents will need to have a family earnings as much as 4 instances the federal poverty line or their medical debt is 5% or extra of their annual family earnings, in response to a proposal doc.
Eradicating the debt can be for pennies on the greenback, Burnley mentioned. Somerville can be the primary municipality within the Bay State to collaborate with RIP Medical Debt, he mentioned. The nonprofit, based in 2014, has a presence in Toledo, New Orleans and Pittsburgh in addition to in a number of counties throughout the U.S.
“Abolishing medical debt for Somerville is about freeing up people economically, about healing them physically so they can go out and get more preventative care,” Burnley mentioned. “It’s also about knowing that the government can be a tool to ensure we have human rights in this country.”
More than 100 million Americans reside with medical debt totaling almost $200 billion, in response to nationwide experiences. Massachusetts has the bottom common medical debt per resident within the nation at $975, in response to a research final yr by Nice RX, a nationwide medicine entry firm.
RIP Medical Debt President and CEO Allison Sesso in an electronic mail to the Herald mentioned she has seen heightened curiosity in municipalities desirous to associate along with her nonprofit, particularly in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and in gentle of the federal ARPA funds. RIP Medical Debt has eradicated $8.5 billion for greater than 5.5 million households dealing with monetary hardship since 2014.
The solely means to determine how a lot medical debt metropolis residents have is by working immediately with space hospitals and medical facilities, Burnley mentioned. Somerville residents received’t want to use or present documentation that they meet eligibility standards, he mentioned.
“As a believer in universal programs, I am quite against means-testing and trading bureaucracy around having to provide documentation for things,” he mentioned. “The hospitals often have all of this information already.”
Burnley’s proposal is a component of a bigger $10 million the town initiative is endeavor to offer help for 501(c)3 nonprofits. The City Council’s public well being and public security committee will hear extra about Burnley’s request throughout a Feb. 13 assembly.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”