(The Center Square) – A Latino political action group helped with the purchase of $133 million in medical debt among Nevada residents in Clark and Washoe counties.
The joint debt relief effort by Latino group Somos Votantes and the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt drew attention to a national trend of mounting health care costs.
“There are thousands of people out there who are really struggling with the high cost of living, who are really struggling with the high cost of health care,” Emmanuelle Santillan, the Somos Votantes national communications director, told The Center Square. “We hope that this eases those concerns and that they’re able to sit down at their kitchen table come the holidays, and breathe a little easier knowing that there’s one less bill they have to worry about.”
There are an estimated 170,000 Nevadans with medical debts, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data from 2019-2021. That comes out to about 7.2% of the state, slightly below the national average. The KFF conservatively estimated Americans owed a collective $220 billion in medical debts.
The $133 million in debt relief payments were applied to 128,475 people in Nevada, nearly 125,000 of which live in Clark County, the state’s most populous county and home to Las Vegas. Somos Votantes and Undue Medical Debt said recipients did not apply for the relief, but automatically qualified if their medical debts were 5% or more of their annual income, or if they earned at or below the federal poverty line ($100,000 for a family of three).
Recipients received letters on Nov. 24 informing them of their debt relief.
“We certainly do hope that this program brings more attention to the epidemic of medical debt that exists with working people,” said Santillan. “Working people are drowning in medical debt, and we know that medical debt traps working families in this endless cycle of financial difficulty and stress. We hope that this program will bring more attention to that, but our primary goal here is relief.”
Somos Votantes partnered with Undue Medical Debt because the latter is able to buy debts at a fraction of the given cost. Santillan told The Center Square that Somos Votantes spent roughly $13 million of the $133 million in relief.
“We purchase bulk portfolios of medical debt owed by those least able to pay at a steep discount directly from hospitals, health systems, physician groups and the secondary market (collection agencies),” said Daniel Lempert, Undue Medical Debt vice president of communications and marketing.
“These medical debts are sold for pennies on the dollar because they’re unlikely to be collected — meaning $1 donated relieves $100 of medical debt on average or more,” Lempert told The Center Square in an email.
Somos Votantes said it was unable to get the exact payment amount from Undue Medical Debt in time for this story. Undue Medical Debt said it would not disclose donation amounts on the behalf of donors and deferred to Somos Votantes.
“While this immediate relief is important, it isn’t a silver bullet or a solve for our broken healthcare system,” wrote Lempert.
“Each state government is unique but in general, state lawmakers have a clear opportunity to take meaningful action with policies that have overwhelming public support – protections that would prevent medical debt from accumulating in the first place and shield families from aggressive collection practices,” said Lempert.
“From a public health perspective, access to timely, preventive, and follow-up health care is critical to the well-being of individuals and communities,” said Jennifer Sizemore, chief communications officer for the Southern Nevada Health District.
“We know that cost concerns and outstanding medical debt can discourage people from seeking needed care, which can worsen health outcomes over time,” Sizemore said. “Efforts that help reduce or eliminate medical debt may lessen some of these barriers and support people in getting the care they need.”
Somos Votantes will hold a celebration for the debt relief recipients Saturday in Las Vegas. For more information, go to seedsofrelief.com.
