The Michigan Nurses Association has raised $12,500 and is using it to purchase and forgive $9 million in unpaid medical debts for individuals living in the state.
This is the second time the group has made such a donation, following up on buying and forgiving $1 million of debt last year.
The association made the announcement during a candlelight vigil. A video of the announcement is available here.
In both cases, the union partnered with RIP Medical Debt, which facilitates the transaction.
“We’re excited that MNA members across the state are stepping up to help so many Michigan families during this holiday season,” Melissa Boals, a registered nurse at Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Medical Center, said in the union news release.
The $9 million in debt being forgiven is tied to 9,200 individuals living in 40 different counties in Michigan.
RIP Medical Debt has partnered with a large number of organizations, church groups, and television stations to purchase debts and have them forgiven.
RIP Medical Debt first made the news back in June 2016 when it helped HBO’s John Oliver purchase and forgive $15 million of unpaid medical debt. RIP Medical Debt is seeking to abolish $1 billion of unpaid healthcare bills in 2018, according to the organization’s co-founders, Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico.
