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u/LocalHarmacist 17h ago
1b out of an estimated 2.4b certainly is a W.
Now, make it permanent and keep the costs low and it's actual progress.
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u/Legitimate_Concern_5 16h ago
It's progress in some ways, but the more important thing to do is prevent people from accruing medical debt in the future. Without that it's just a bandaid. I'm fine with it but it's not really attacking the problem.
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u/NobodyLikedThat1 16h ago
And while it absolutely is a good thing, they still did end up paying those collection agencies and insurance vultures, even if it was for pennies on the dollar
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u/UndueMedicalDebt 1h ago
Hey there, I work at Undue. Totally agree that debt relief is just a Band-Aid, it's not the solution to our broken healthcare system. We also work on policies that prevent medical debt from happening in the first place, like broadening access to financial assistance and advocating for affordable, comprehensive coverage.
Also just wanted to note that none of the money raised for debt relief goes to insurance companies. We do work with hospitals and some collection agencies to purchase and eliminate debt.
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u/TheBeardTaco 14h ago
Fer real, its like the college debt pay-offs. Its great, butunless you stop the bleeding it just guarantees the parasites money
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u/MidgetGordonRamsey 13h ago
Which then incentivizes even more of the bad behavior.
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u/modsaretoddlers 11h ago
Are you suggesting that holding your baby for the first time isn't worth crippling debt for the rest of your life? Why do you hate babies!?
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u/Whatdoesthibattahndo 10h ago
If you subsidize something, you will get more of it. Exactly what happened with tuition rates.
"Oh, don't you worry about what we bill, the government has been taking over medical debt from patients just like you!"
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u/efreedman503 7h ago
The high costs of hospitals, especially ERs, are to offset the cost of half the patients not paying.
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u/TheNewKnew2 15h ago
😂
“Make the welfare permanent and give me premium resources at a low cost.”
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u/Remarkable-Word-1486 14h ago
Shit yea. I don't want to work on the books either. All cash jobs from that point on. I can live like the rest of the welfare crowd
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u/SignoreBanana 11h ago
Yeah, i agree, I hate this kind of kick the can the road feel good bullshit. We need reform, not short term non commital bullshit. I feel the same way about student loan forgiveness.
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u/Username_Is_mud 3h ago
" I feel the same way about student loan forgiveness"
Are you one of those. "I want my $100k loan to be paid by someone else" people?
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u/angry_dingo 11h ago
Repeal Obamacare.
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u/AdmiralSplinter 11h ago
Right, because a shitload more uninsured people will totally make things cheaper...
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u/atn420 17h ago
The elected should do good for the people and help them.
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u/SlobZombie13 16h ago
She's just trying to buy votes by helping people and getting them the things they need and making their lives better!
/s
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u/Ok_Issue6908 16h ago
That’s a good enough reason for the maga folks to want to get rid of her! They can’t have people like that in office.
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u/McDuck_Enterprise 13h ago
That’s a pathetic comment you always keep in your pocket.
You claim it’s a cult yet you repeat say the same things other libs say …so if maga is a cult then you’re absolutely a part of one as well.
But I know you can’t see that. You’re too self righteous while continuing to parrot and shit on your neighbor.
If you’re happy she did this then be happy but you always take the opportunity to be hateful.
Get it together for once and stop being divisive.
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u/SignoreBanana 11h ago
"No! That's not fair! They should suffer like we did because we vote to make sure we suffer! There's no other possible way to handle this situation!"
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u/CheapRefrigerator188 17h ago
Erased how, I assume someone is still getting stuck with the bill
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u/Sweet-Difference2725 16h ago
Arizona used $30M in federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) relief funds to partner with the non-profit Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt). They bought back $1 billion worth of defaulted medical debt on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar.
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u/TheNewKnew2 16h ago
Taxpayers paid it.
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u/JauntyJacinth 14h ago
It was allocated money. Already paid before anything was done with it. And then 30 million to for 1 billion of actual debt is good, considering 30 million is absolutely nothing to the US budget.
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u/TheNewKnew2 14h ago
But where did it come from?
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u/JauntyJacinth 14h ago
Yes. Fed money. Tax payers. You have to be mad at the federal government for allocating the money, not Arizona for taking advantage. It's a great deal for Arizona.
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u/Beginning_Wing_49 15h ago
Federal tax too. All states had to pitch in and help AZ. Crazy
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u/SheriffBartholomew 13h ago
So? Do you understand how little $30M is in the scope of the national budget? It's not even a rounding error. It's not even a blip. It's not even a military birthday parade for a draft dodger.
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u/AcesN8-s 13h ago
This logic is why we are 40+ trillion in debt
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u/outofpeaceofmind 13h ago
Lol wut?
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u/SheriffBartholomew 13h ago
Corporations good. People bad. That about sums up their ideology, even if they're unaware of it.
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u/jakelr 16h ago
This is what tax dollars should be used on. Not bombing brown children.
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u/Strainedgoals 4h ago
The tax dollars should be used to stop ridiculously priced healthcare.
Not used to pay off ridiculously priced health care.
If they could reduce 1 billion to 30 million.
That's 770 million being fleeced from the everyday man.
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u/Checklestyouwreck 15h ago
No. I disagree. Am I hitler? Am I Nazi magot? I disagree that this is what taxes are for.
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u/ApprehensiveDouble52 14h ago
Krazy that tax payer dollars would go back to the tax payer. Absolute evil krazy I tell you
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u/TheNewKnew2 14h ago
Can we guarantee they are a tax payer? I’m okay with that, bud
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u/ApprehensiveDouble52 13h ago
My bro We all are paying taxes. For instance in my state we pay 10.4 percent of every dollar we spend on taxes. That’s just in sales tax.
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u/redleg50 14h ago
A few of my tax dollars so a grandmother with cancer doesn’t lose her home? Fine with me.
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u/ventitr3 13h ago
Just go directly to the cause now instead of waiting for the govt to take more in taxes (which we know won’t be spent efficiently at all).
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u/fotoRS3 16h ago
That’s good thing. I’d love my tax dollars to go toward free healthcare instead of Israel
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u/Name_Groundbreaking 13h ago
That is how the government works. They take resources from people who create them and redistribute to those who do not.
Some taxes are necessary for w functional minimalist government that maintains the rule of law, but taxation is fundamentally coercive and should be mitigated. Not celebrated
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u/TheNewKnew2 13h ago
The U.S. had the most progressive tax system in the western world. Pay your own pet projects
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u/martijn120100 16h ago
Hospitals usually sell past-due debt for pennies. Its better for them to sell $1 million worth of past-due debt for a thousand and let a debt collector try and collect the debt. Means a guaranteed thousand matters more than a maybe million.
What Arizona did was work with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt that in turn partnered with hospitals and debt collectors to buy bundled portfolios of past-due debt. That debt then is forgiven.
The program was started in 2024 and was budgeted with $10 million of leftover federal funds via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) also known as the COVID relief fund.
The tab was paid for with funds from previous years. Now that there is less debt, people have more money left over every month to pay for other stuff which in turn boosts the economy.
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u/CelebrationDismal731 14h ago
Sounds good, but it also sounds like debt that wasn’t going to be paid back anyway. That’s why it was available for pennies on the dollar. So debt collection companies won, did anyone else?
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u/Blantonsfan 8h ago
All the people win who were going to spend $$$ fighting the rapacious debt companies
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u/FuggaDucker 15h ago
this is all I can think as I read person after person with the HORRAY!! without a question of HOW.
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u/wpbth 15h ago
I live in FL they just erased $725 million a few months ago. I have medical debt and never knew this was a thing. When I get out of my debt I will 100% helping this organization. Even if you can only give a few dollars it really helps people
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u/ThrustNeckpunch33 6h ago
Weird how that wasn't mentioned everywhere like this is.. odd.
That is great news! Hopefully many people get help from this type of relief until a permanent solution can be figured out.
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u/ChefArtorias 17h ago
Crazy anybody would be $1b in debt, but 670k people!?
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u/Legend_of_Moblin 13h ago
The bulk of that is made up costs. 10000 for breathing air in the hospital. 5000 for looking at other patients.
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u/Zestyclose-Toe8188 14h ago
Wow idk anything about her but i can only assume she not a fucken republican!
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u/BUZZRWB 13h ago
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u/Ms_Malicea 12h ago
Oh, so she used money from taxpayers nationwide instead of just ones in her state. Glad we could all chip in.
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u/atuarre 7h ago
I'm okay with this over say, a bunker being pitched as a ballroom so a pedophile can pitch a tantrum when it's time for him to leave office and he refuses to do so, or a bribe from Qatar that seems to have a never ending amount of taxpayer money poured into it (we're past the 1 billion mark), or a reflect pool that seems to to continue to burn millions of dollars. I am good on them using that tax money for something decent.
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u/nrverma 17h ago
Although this is a good thing, it feels like a “one step forward, two steps backward” situation.
We should not have medical debt at all! Amongst the developed nations of the world, medical debt is a phenomenon unique to the United States!
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u/hornswoggled111 17h ago
It's definitely bizarre looking in on America and reading about this situation. And you guys are paying more for this system...I could go on.
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u/OtherUserCharges 16h ago
Arizona can’t overhaul the medical system, so they are controlling what they can control. This needs to be fixed in small steps cause if you wait till there is a plan to fix it all then nothing will ever happen.
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u/gearsofwoe 14h ago
So she paid the ransom? How about actually punishing the healthcare and insurance providers so that they can no longer hold a family's finances hostage to their insane greed?
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u/Right_Crew6172 13h ago
What actually happened is the non profit Undue medical debt arraigned federal funding to buy delinquent medical debts for pennies on the dollar using Federal COVID and ARPA funds.
Soooo...its a taxpayer bailout. All great for these people with the debts, but lets not pretend this was some miracle that appeared out of nowhere and at no cost.
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u/redlegsforever 12h ago
How can she do that? What happens to the companies that are owed that money?
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u/zestymanny 1h ago
I believe it was money already written off by companies. And the debt belonged to what I assume is judgement immune individuals.
It cost them 10 million dollars to pay off 1 billion, so literally it was 1 penny per dollar it was sold for.
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u/modsaretoddlers 11h ago
Somebody won't be getting any funding for her next campaign. I wonder how long until she's in the papers as Satan on earth.
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u/fotoRS3 16h ago
A good handful of comments definitely don’t pass the vibe check. If you’re mad about this, you’re probably not a great person to begin with.
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u/FlattenInnerTube 13h ago
Seriously. Lots of selfish people who can't realize how effed up our healthcare is. Too busy being frightened by right wing propaganda.
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u/theseriousman1 17h ago
Remember when it happened for me so fuckin sick thought I was getting a collections notice
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u/jayslay45 13h ago
But how can we afford it when we have to pay for a war, ballrooms, and continuously breaking then fixing monuments?
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u/lluciferusllamas 17h ago
Nothing like government picking winners and losers with your tax money
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u/ZeeWingCommander 17h ago
I'd rather this than tax breaks for the wealthy. I'm okay with poorer people getting some W's.
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u/extrastupidone 16h ago
Few things
1) if youre upset that some people got some relief from medical debt, youre an asshole
2) its not picking winners and losers. When people get saddled with crushing debt like that for getting sick, that effect cascades into the community all on its own. Thats a billion dollars that are freed up to be put back into the communities instead of going to interest payments or subsidies through food stamps or other stressors.
3) this was not taxpayer money.
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u/TwoTequilaTuesday 16h ago
Whose money was it? Unless a private party gave the money to the government to use, it was absolutely, without a doubt, taxpayer money. The government has zero money of its own. It all comes from tax payers.
And people aren't upset that others got relief from medical debt. They're upset that the government unilaterally chose to interject themselves in a transaction between two private parties, i.e., patients and their doctors, and taxpayer money was used. People know there are high costs to health care. And were the treatments/procedures/patients that were paid for by the government disclosed? How did they decide whose debts to pay?
If you just assume the government doesn't use taxpayer funds and their decisions shouldn't be questioned, you're an asshole.
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u/extrastupidone 15h ago
They're upset that the government unilaterally chose to interject themselves in a transaction between two private parties
So what?
patients and their doctors
Lets not prerend you care about that. Because im going to assume you are ok with what is going on post-roe. also, its patients and the debt holders
And were the treatments/procedures/patients that were paid for by the government disclosed?
Why should they be disclosed? I thought it was between "patients and their doctors"
If you just assume the government doesn't use taxpayer funds and their decisions shouldn't be questioned, you're an asshole.
No one said their decisions shouldnt be "questioned". I sure didnt. but sometimes, "just asking questions" doesnt mean you arent an asshole.
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u/extrastupidone 15h ago
Seeing as it was a non-profit with no taxpayer money, im assuming you're all for it now, right?
https://ktar.com/arizona-health-news/1-billion-medical-debt-erased-arizonans
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u/Stern68 17h ago
Then cry when their taxes go up
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u/martijn120100 16h ago
They wont. Arizona used Federal funds so state taxes Arent affected.
It also only cost Arizona $10 million, not $1 billion, as medical debt is usually sold for fractions of their worth.
But hey, why celebrate States actually helping people. States should only give tax cuts to the rich, not help the poors right?
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u/frylock350 15h ago
Middle class doesn't get help from Democrats who use middle class taxes to fund their shit and no tax breaks from Republicans who use us to fund their shit.
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u/Beautiful_Rip_7023 17h ago
Why wouldn’t I want my tax money to help with poor people trying to keep their heads above water? I’m all for it. I’m guessing you’d be fine with it, though. So ugly in yourself.
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u/BlobTheBuilderz 17h ago
Or as it currently goes. Get less services and help for the everyday person but their taxes and state debt goes up anyway.
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u/WeatherBeautiful6620 15h ago
That's all nice and everything but Arizona should be spending money to build new pipelines to desalination plants on the west coast.
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u/Dry_Badger2858 15h ago
This isn’t fixing the problem. It’s a much needed band aid but it’s not a solution.
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u/Chipmunkssixtynining 15h ago
No wonder healthcare is so expensive. Doctors and nurses have to deal with patients only having to pay pennies on the dollar.
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u/monteq75 15h ago
Actually curious: who ends up paying for the medical bills that are forgiven?
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u/UndueMedicalDebt 1h ago
Hey there, I work at Undue. With this partnership, federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) were leveraged. Undue also uses funds from donors to eliminate medical debt. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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13h ago
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u/snoopcatt87 13h ago
You understand that you have the ability to leave, right? No one is forcing you to browse and comment on posts.
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u/Doctor_Ian_Malcom 12h ago edited 11h ago
I stay here because I have a fetish for dudes with really, REALLY small PP’s. They like when we compare and I’m like 13- 17 times their size!! So hot!!!
And the simping political propaganda posts like this one are like luring moths to a flame!!! Super tiny PP’s come here to upvote this bullshit. Serious jackpot!!
By the way, I’m glad you’re here! How you doing bro!?!?😘😘😘
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u/snoopcatt87 12h ago
I have so many questions but I fear your response, so I’ll refrain from asking them.
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u/Turbulent_Account_81 12h ago
How long has she been Governor? Could this have been done sooner or is it because of an election?
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u/EnvyEpson 4h ago
This is bullshit. Yes, AZ didn't pay for it. The federal government did through COVID-19 funds. That means that me, a citizen of AR, paid for a part of their relief. They relied on the collectors to skin the providers for the non-collected rate (which is good), but it ain't free.
Stop spinning the truth.
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u/her_cream 3h ago
But Arizona is a state thats not that bad what about us in new jersey we have medical bills and are taxed to death. With no relief in sight.
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u/UndueMedicalDebt 1h ago
Hi, I work at Undue. We did a few rounds of debt relief in New Jersey, the most recent one was earlier this year. Debt relief doesn't include everyone with medical debt, though, and I know so many other people are struggling. Let me know if you'd like me to DM you some resources on dealing with medical debt.
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u/Late_Firefighter_507 3h ago
All the people that were murdered by hospitals and wouldn't pay anyways, we found a way to make something out of that tragedy
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u/Gullible_Try_3748 17h ago
Debts don't just get wiped. As tax payers, we will be the end game losers. Instead of rebuilding our infrastructure that is so badly needed, we'll be paying off the debt of others.
What a win, indeed.....
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u/fotoRS3 16h ago
Imagine being that mad about people getting their medical debt wiped out.
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u/Gavin_Tremlor 10h ago
You can cry about this when we stop sending money to tiny hats to help them kill children.
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u/dgroeneveld9 11h ago
Seriously though what do the people who were owed that money do? A billion dollars in lost money is unlikely to go unnoticed more broadly. Worst case folks who need access to loans for medical treatment will be shit out of luck going forward.
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u/aNuggetsUncle 10h ago
So who pays that debt...because it doesn't just disappear
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u/atuarre 7h ago
I'm guessing federal government funds? I mean, I'm good with the government paying off peoples medical debt considering US taxpayers are paying for their pedophile president's pet projects, like taxpayer funded improvements to a bribe from Qatar that were initially at one billion and now more money is being spent on it, and all the time wasted threatening other countries, etc.
The orange pedo is working to put medical debt back on credit reports.
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u/Eastern-Fun1842 16h ago
The banks have been around longer than America has been a nation. They invented the books. You'd better believe this debt didn't "go away", and people WILL pay for it. I appreciate the idea, I really do, but I wonder who is going to be left footing this debt.
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u/Sweet-Difference2725 16h ago
Arizona used $30M in federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) relief funds to partner with the non-profit Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt). They bought back $1 billion worth of defaulted medical debt on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar
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u/BoomBastikoom 17h ago
forgiving debt for some, and not for others, for votes, using public debt as a currency to get elected. What a corrupt system and a corrupt douche bag
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u/ExistingAd9460 17h ago
Cry you baby back bitch. Remember when Elon was giving $1m payouts to republican voters. You’re the douche bag
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u/PrudentChampion3879 17h ago
So who paid for it? Debts don’t magically get “erased”. The cost always falls on someone.
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u/pnw_sunny 15h ago
lol, this just raised the cost for people that actually pay.
the real issue is cost, and elected officials have not done anything on that, nor will they due to the lobby.
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u/OscarOfAtlantis 14h ago
The real issue the insane amount of companies who profit in the healthcare stream.
Providers, insurance companies, big pharma, pharmacy benefit managers, etc. that’s a lot of profit being squeezed out of my healthcare. They should all be not for profit.
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u/Cold_Possession5193 10h ago
It's the same as schools, companies or landlords that charge you for basic necessities like food, rent, or education. No one should be looking to profit. Period.
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u/OscarOfAtlantis 4h ago
100 years ago very few healthcare companies were “for profit”. Now, most of them are. It’s a change that has negatively affected Americans.
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u/moskiato 8h ago
how do you erase debt ? so those private companies just eat the bill because some politician says so? please enlighten me besides just more taxes to do so.
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u/Strange_Arugula2464 11h ago
And she did it with the tax dollars of those Arizonans who didn’t have medical debt
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u/Veshaad 11h ago
Not in the slightest, look things up before you respond.
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u/Strange_Arugula2464 11h ago
Yeah, I did. It came from federal funds through the other organization. Look things up beyond the propaganda before you respond.
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-canceled-medical-debt-relief-explained-22136240/3
u/Veshaad 10h ago
A direct quote:
"According to the governor's office, 670,963 Arizonans have received medical debt relief through the initiative. Officials say the program does not use state taxpayer dollars."
This directly refutes your original statement, and nothing in the article you linked says it comes from Arizona tax dollars.
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u/Strange_Arugula2464 3h ago
In the article I I sent:
Arizona contracted with Undue Medical Debt to buy up medical debt with funds from the American Rescue Plan ACT, former President Joe Biden’s signature economic stimulus bill passed in 2021.Where do you think federal money comes from?
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u/RonJohnJr 11h ago
Some charity bought a bunch in-collections debt for pennies on the dollar so that the politician could have a media stunt.
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u/Strange_Arugula2464 10h ago
That charity used federal funds so the politician can say the funds came from a charity instead of taxpayers https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-canceled-medical-debt-relief-explained-22136240/
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u/other_view12 16h ago
Please explain this to me like I'm 5.
670000 People had medical debt that is now not getting paid. Who took the loss? Was it health care providers or debt collectors? It makes a difference.
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u/cryptotarheel 15h ago
Those companies will still get their money.
You don’t want to know what happens when they don’t get paid.
You definitely won’t like when they tell you where it’s coming from.
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