Pacific Lutheran University Communication Students' Campaign
Help Abolish Debt in Washington, Idaho, and Montana
To donate to this campaign by mail, please send a check:
Payable To:
RIP Medical Debt
Address:
RIP Medical Debt
P. O. Box 411675
Boston, MA 02241-1675
Memo Line:
Pacific Lutheran University Communication Students — 47254
“When one neighbor helps another, we strengthen our communities”
-Jennifer Pahlka
We are Communication students at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington and our Strategic Communication class is doing a fundraising campaign to help our neighbors in Washington, Idaho, and Montana erase their medical debt. PLU’s mission statement asks us to lead lives of service and care to our communities, and this is a meaningful way we can live out that mission. In this season of gratitude and thankfulness, we hope you will join us in making our community and our world a better place.
Neighbors
Community
Gratitude
Campaign Support Recipients
- Recent Donations
- Anonymous just donated $26.80
- Anonymous just donated $1,057
- Angela F. just donated $75
- Pamela P. just donated $58.50
- Ruth F. just donated $53.20
- Karen C. just donated $106
- Tiffany W. just donated $26.80
- Soon C. just donated $50
To donate to this campaign by mail, please send a check:
Payable To:
RIP Medical Debt
Address:
RIP Medical Debt
P. O. Box 411675
Boston, MA 02241-1675
Memo Line:
Pacific Lutheran University Communication Students — 47254
- Recent Donations
- Anonymous just donated $26.80
- Anonymous just donated $1,057
- Angela F. just donated $75
- Pamela P. just donated $58.50
- Ruth F. just donated $53.20
- Karen C. just donated $106
- Tiffany W. just donated $26.80
- Soon C. just donated $50
New research on the impacts of medical debt
A new survey published by PerryUndem in 2023 shows that medical debt is a shared experience for patients across the country.
Key Findings
Patients are making tradeoffs that affect their daily lives.
- Nearly 7 in 10 Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they receive medical bills they cannot afford. Many are forced to delay paying the bill, put it on a credit card, or challenge the bill.
- 6 in 10 Six in ten patients report they have self-treated, delayed, or skipped dental and medical appointments. Thirty-four percent report changing the foods they eat or eating less food to afford health care.
People and patients feel trapped in debt and see no way out. They see medical debt as different from other forms of debt - entirely the fault of institutions and systems, and not something consumers have any control over.
- Nearly 50% Nearly half feel trapped and believe they will never be able to pay off their debt, while a third of respondents reported feeling heightened depression and anxiety.
- Nearly 9 in 10 Nearly 9 in 10 blame the health care industry for fueling the medical debt crisis - not patients themselves. They say the problem stems from the system putting profit over patients.
Fundraise for This Campaign
Start a fundraiser to help those in need. Set a personal fundraising goal and track online donations easily with RIP.
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.
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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.
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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.
Frequent Questions
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