In journalism school, they teach you about “man bites dog.” What that means is that a story about a man biting a dog is likely to be more interesting — and thus more popular — than a story about a dog biting a man. Dogs bite people every day. People biting dogs … that’s something that usually only happens in Florida.
I mention this because the reason I am writing this particular article is because it’s a little bit of a man-bites-dog type of story. A pair of healthcare providers in North Carolina are among what I believe to be the first to refuse to work with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt to allow the unpaid debts of their patients to be purchased by the organization and then forgiven.
What’s Going On: A retired physician contacted RIP Medical Debt to inquire about launching a campaign, but was told that the group has not been able to purchase enough medical debt in Mecklenburg County, where the two facilities are the biggest healthcare providers.
- The two facilities are unwilling to sell or donate their unpaid debts, according to a published report.
What The Hospitals Said: Working with RIP Medical Debt would conflict with the providers’ charity care programs and discourage individuals from signing up for Medicaid or other forms of health insurance, according to the report.
- “We believe our policies and practices afford patients and our communities a better long-term and ongoing solution to addressing and preventing medical debt,” Atrium Health said in a statement.
No Sale: Neither Atrium nor Novant Health sell unpaid or charged off debts, the companies said in the report.
- Atrium does place unpaid debts with a third-party collection agency, according to the company’s billing and collections policy.
