In what is being touted as a “bailout by the people,” the Rolling Jubilee announced Monday they have now abolished nearly $15 million in individual medical debt.
In an affront to the status quo of debt collection, Strike Debt—the group behind the project—has so far raised $600,000 which it has used to purchase a total of $14.7 million in medical debt for “pennies on the dollar.” Then, instead of trying to collect on it, the group graciously forgives the debt.
“We have shown that lenders are perfectly willing to write your debts off – they’re just not willing to write them off to you… Unless you force them to,” said the group. “We hope that this knowledge inspires debtors everywhere to not just do what the lenders demand of them, but instead to use their leverage to strike a better deal – or simply refuse payment altogether.”
To celebrate a year since their kickoff telethon, on November 15th the group will be holding “jubilee” celebrations in cities across the U.S. including Austin, New York and Helena, Montana. Affiiliated groups in San Francisco and Portland, Ore. will be holding their events on the 23rd.
The project was initiated last year by a consortium of people looking to build popular resistance to predatory lending practices. Since that time, 3,801 debtors have received a letter from the Rolling Jubilee Fund informing them, “[Y]ou no longer owe the balance of this debt.”
“People across the country [have] chipped in to help relieve some of the stress associated with the experience of being indebted,” the letter states. “We do not think people should be forced to suffer twice, first from illness and then from medical debt.”
It continues, “Today one in every seven Americans is being pursued by a debt collector. 62% of all bankruptcies have medical debt as a contributing factor, 77.5% of American households are in debt and over 40% of credit card debt was used for basic needs. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
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