Help Abolish Medical Debt in Chicago-Land

Every dollar you donate forgives $100 in Medical Debt

$5,660.50
raised of $10,000 goal
56%
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Campaign Created ByAbby Reimer & Christian Hyacinthe

The Problem 

Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. Many patients with medical debt are uninsured or under-insured, leaving them especially vulnerable to unexpected medical expenses and emergencies, like cancer diagnoses, birth complications, and car accidents. Beyond life-altering financial consequences, medical debt has real health consequences. Medical debt can often deter people from getting the health care services they need.

How You Can Help 

RIP Medical Debt uses your donations to purchase bundled medical debt portfolios on the secondary debt market, and then forgives that debt at pennies on the dollar. By donating to this campaign, you’ll help abolish medical debt in Cook, McHenry, Will, Lake, and Kane counties. 

On average, $1 is leveraged to abolish $100 in medical debt. When debt relief recipients open the yellow envelope from RIP, they are told that their debt has been bought by a third party and erased with no strings attached. They owe nothing on the debt and face no tax penalty. 

Campaign Support Recipients
Chicago Metropolitan Area
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$5,660.50
raised of $10,000 goal
56%
Fundraise
Donate by Check
  • Recent Donations
  • Donor Avatar
    Nozomu Y. just donated $26.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Alice R. just donated $26.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Elaine W. just donated $106
  • Donor Avatar
    Anonymous just donated $26.80
  • Donor Avatar
    Anonymous just donated $53.20
  • Donor Avatar
    Katie C. just donated $100
  • Donor Avatar
    Ashok K. just donated $100
  • Donor Avatar
    Anonymous just donated $26.80

Fundraise for This Campaign

Start a fundraiser to help those in need. Set a personal fundraising goal and track online donations easily with RIP.

Fundraise
1 Active Fundraiser
Di Hu
DH

How RIP Works

Over a hundred million Americans, one in three, struggles with the weight of medical debt.

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  • You make a donation

    We use data analytics to pinpoint the debt of those most in need: households that earn less than 4x the federal poverty level (varies by state, family size) or whose debts are 5% or more of annual income.

  • RIP buys medical debt at a steep discount

    We buy debt in bundles, millions of dollars at a time at a fraction of the original cost. This means your donation relieves about 100x its value in medical debt.

  • Together we wipe out medical debt

    People across the country receive letters that their debt has been erased. They have no tax consequences or penalties to consider. Just like that, they’re free of medical debt.

Who We Help
Read Our FAQ
Debt Resources
Frequent Questions
Is my donation tax deductible?

Yes. We are a 501(c)(3) charity and your donation is 100% tax deductible.

Relevant Documents:
IRS 501(c)3 Determination Letter
Download
Who qualifies for debt relief?

When we purchase a portfolio of medical debt, we abolish debt for individuals who:

  • Earn less than 4x the federal poverty level (varies by state, family size).
  • Debts are 5 percent or more of annual income.

We only buy debt that has been pre-qualified by our partners to meet at least one of these criteria. 

We never collect on debt we purchase, only relieve it.

Do recipients of debt relief have any adverse consequences?

No. With your help, we abolish medical debt permanently. Recipients have no adverse tax consequences, obligations, or strings attached.

For those whose medical debts are relieved, the relief is a gift from a detached and disinterested third party (RIP) as an act of generosity, so relief of the debt does not count as income to the debtor. We will not file a Form 1099-C with the IRS.

Can donors see whose debt is relieved by their donation?

Due to HIPAA laws, RIP Medical Debt cannot disclose the names, contact information or any other specific details of the debt relief beneficiaries.

Can I apply for debt relief?

RIP Medical Debt cannot relieve debt by individual request.

While we would love to help everyone who needs assistance, RIP Medical Debt cannot abolish medical debt for specific individuals. We approach the problem of medical debt by acquiring large portfolios of debt to help thousands of people at once.

Because medical debt affects so many people who may not have debt accounts in the portfolios we purchase, we have compiled a list of resources that may be able to help in ways RIP Medical Debt cannot.

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