Dems, local officials tout state budget for helping relieve medical debt for Michiganders

While negotiations over the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget continue, state and local officials gathered Wednesday morning in Lansing to highlight an appropriation from the current 2024 budget that will provide financial relief to thousands of Michiganders.

Senate Appropriations Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) joined with local government officials and health advocates to highlight the local impact of a $4.5 million appropriation that was included in a supplemental budget bill passed in November.

Anthony said that when leaders were crafting the budget last year — the first under a Legislature controlled by Democrats in nearly 40 years — they gave a real focus to issues that would help lift people out of poverty and give a fair shot to working and middle class Michiganders.

“And one of the things that we had heard about at coffee hours and in the grocery store, and in our own families, was this concept of medical debt,” said Anthony. “Something that was hamstringing the pocketbooks of men and women in almost every corner of our state and across the country. So after 40 years of not having a seat at the table, finally the voters decided that the Democratic trifecta should stand in the gap for them. And this is one big initiative that we led on.”

Anthony said that the $4.5 million appropriation will now be leveraged to10 times that amount through collaborations with RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that works with healthcare providers including hospitals, health systems, and physicians groups to find ways to alleviate medical debt for affected residents.

“These state dollars go directly to local governments,” she said. “When you stop to consider the local matching funds and the partnerships on the ground, the $4.5 million quickly grows to provide an estimated $450 million in medical debt relief for approximately 180,000 Michigan residents.”

#USPol #Politics #News #Michigan #Budget #MedicalDebt #Debt #RIPMedicalDebt

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/20/dems-local-officials-tout-state-budget-for-helping-relieve-medical-debt-for-michiganders/

#Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs plans to cancel $2 billion in medical debt for up to 1 million residents.

This is the biggest medical debt cancellation proposal in the country.

The Governor plans to use $30 million in federal funds to buy and cancel the debt

#RiPMedicalDebt #MedicalDebt
@uspolitics
@newsmast
#Democrats #DemocratsAbroad #DemsAbroad #Vote #VoteBlue #BidenHarris2024

https://eu.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2024/03/04/arizona-governor-to-use-american-rescue-plan-act-money-to-erase-medical-debt-for-1m/72840751007/

@CaramelizedShallots

#Unfair #MedicalDebt destroys lives in #America. The #nonprofit #RIPMedicalDebt is doing really, really important work in this space:

Before dying, she made a fund to cancel others' medical debt — nearly $70M worth - https://www.npr.org/2023/11/27/1215420434/medical-debt-insurance-ovarian-cancer-casey-mcintyre

I've been watching this #RIPMedicalDebt campaign that was created by a woman who died very young from cancer.

It's phenomenal. What a lovely legacy, out of a terrible situation.

#MedicalDebt

https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaign/andrewrosegregory-47569/?

The nonprofit described in this article — RIP Medical Debt — helps people wipe out unaffordable medical debt. Pass the word to people you know who may need this kind of help. #RIPMedicalDebt #MedicalDebt #Medical_Debt #EndMedicalDebt #BlackMastodon #BlackMastodonAllies

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/a-cancer-patients-dying-wish-to-burn-others-medical-debt-goes-viral-now-topping-40m.html

Na, like frfr, this #HowIdFixAtlanta campaign is really next level great, illustrating the magic of collective action.

There is no silver bullet to cure Healthcare affordable - but it's a helluva step forward. Plus, it shows that we *can* take action to improve things.

Extremely grateful to call Austin Louis Ray my neighbor

#Atlanta #Georgia #ripmedicaldebt

https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaign/when-good-georgians-get-together-great-things-happen-campaign/?

Holy hell!!! The #HowIdFixAtlanta series is doing big things with #ripmedicaldebt for #Atlanta and the State of #Georgia

https://ripmedicaldebt.org/campaign/when-good-georgians-get-together-great-things-happen-campaign/?

The US medical system is unique in the world in that it places millions of people into crippling debt for getting sick.

We just donated to #RIPMedicalDebt who is a charity that buys at discount and relieves medical debt in the US. Please consider doing so if you can.

https://ripmedicaldebt.org/?form=donate

#MedicalDebt #DebtRelief #charity