More than 133,000 Clevelanders who received care at MetroHealth will see their medical debt canceled in the latest round of relief delivered in a deal between the city and RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit. The move wipes about $136 million in debt off the books, bringing the total since November to almost $170 million.
“MetroHealth has never turned away individuals who need care because of their inability to pay — and that will never change,” said MetroHealth President & CEO Airica Steed in a statement on Friday. “We are proud to partner with RIP Medical Debt to bring additional relief to the individuals we serve.”
“City Council members are thrilled this is helping so many Cleveland residents by removing a huge weight or burden from their lives, and we thank MetroHealth for supporting this initiative,” said Council Member Kris Harsh.
Harsh helped bring medical debt relief to Cleveland. He cosponsored legislation that City Council unanimously passed in April 2023, setting aside $1.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to work with RIP Medical Debt on relief for residents.
How medical debt forgiveness works
Healthcare providers often sell old debts to commercial debt collectors for pennies on the dollar. RIP operates in the same market, using private donations to purchase large bundles of past-due debt for patients earning up to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines or whose debt equals at least 5% their annual household income.
The first round of relief in Cleveland came in November 2023, when the organization purchased and canceled $33 million of debt from a local hospital system for 16,000 residents. At that time, City Council hoped to help about 50,000 city residents, but the newly announced round of cancellations far exceeds that goal.
RIP Medical Debt and MetroHealth simultaneously offered relief to another 157,000 people living in other cities in Northeast Ohio. Those cancellations were funded with private donations, not Cleveland’s ARPA funds.
RIP Medical Debt will send letters to relief recipients.