Rethinking Heroes National Medical Debt Relief Campaign

By Veterans and on Behalf of Veterans

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Campaign Created ByRethinking Heroes

Rethinking Heroes is a first-ever national public radio program addressing, among other social and financial challenges, a suicide rate veterans experience that is twice that of fellow Americans and an estimated $6B in medical debt burden currently owed by them through the VA hospital system.

As a co-founder of RIP Medical Debt and a Navy veteran, I designed Rethinking Heroes as an “Impact Awareness” tool to focus on righting the wrongs that veterans needlessly suffer.

My colleague and Director of Broadcasting at Let’s Rethink This, Cary Harrison, is the host of Rethinking Heroes, and streams this program across the U.S. every Friday at 9 am PST and noon EDT where he interviews people who are vets and veteran advocates providing impactful, real-world solutions. 

As a special public service, on the last Friday show of each month, on behalf of veterans and as part of a national campaign called Veteran Mission Possible (VMP), Cary abolishes $1M in unpaid medical debt owed by their fellow Americans. Veterans: having served; still serving.

All donations made directly through this page support the spirit of our work and are counted separately (not as part of the monthly Rethinking Heroes donation) and tax-deductible individually to donors.

-Co-Founder of RIP Medical Debt and Let’s Rethink This Founder Jerry Ashton

Please note that while this campaign is on behalf of veterans, it is not specifically targeting the medical debt of veterans.

Campaign Support Recipients
Nationwide
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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
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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
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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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