Two nonprofit organizations have joined forces to eliminate medical debt for over 1,500 families in Maine. Mainers for Working Families (MFWF) partnered with the national group Undue Medical Debt to purchase and forgive $1.8 million in unpaid medical bills. This initiative targeted low-income individuals whose medical debt exceeded 5% of their annual income or whose earnings were less than four times the federal poverty line.
The effort was made possible through a donation of just $12,740 from MFWF, which allowed Undue Medical Debt to buy the debt portfolios at steep discounts—less than a penny on the dollar. Recipients of this relief were not required to take any action, as letters were sent notifying them of their cleared debts.
Undue Medical Debt, formerly known as RIP Medical Debt, was founded by Wall Street investors after the Occupy Wall Street movement. Since its inception, the organization has erased $14.8 billion in medical debt across the U.S., including this first partnership in Maine. Advocates like MFWF Executive Director Evan LeBrun emphasize that while this initiative is impactful, it represents only a small fraction of the medical debt burden faced by Mainers, with an estimated 40% of residents carrying such debt.