EarnIn Abolishes $22 Million in Medical Debt
EarnIn, a pioneer in Earned Wage Access (EWA), announced today that they have abolished $22 million in medical debt, first supporting $13.9 million for people living in Bexar County, Texas, home to San Antonio, which holds the third largest amount of medical debt in the country. Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising for the last several decades, and paying off medical bills has become increasingly difficult for many Americans. Medical expenses are the biggest driver of bankruptcy in the US with two-thirds of bankruptcies citing medical debt as the leading cause. As EarnIn remains steadfast in their mission of making financial momentum accessible to everyone, this partnership was a natural next step for these efforts.
"This is one of many efforts that EarnIn is making to address the challenges of financial inequality," said EarnIn CEO and Founder, Ram Palaniappan. "We need new innovative solution to improve financial access and inclusion. EarnIn's mission is to make financial momentum accessible to everyone, ensuring they have the financial mobility they deserve. We see this work to abolish medical debt as one of many novel ways by which we are making an impact on the pressing financial challenges of today."
EarnIn's pledge includes plans to abolish additional medical debt in Maricopa County, Arizona and Clark County, Nevada later this year. These three southwestern states - Texas, Arizona, and Nevada - are ranked amongst those who have poor medical debt consumer protection policies, which include having inadequate levels of health insurance, financial assistance policies, and Medicaid.
Today's medical debt relief was provided in partnership with RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit making a difference in the lives of those struggling with medical debt. The organization erases debts for households that earn four times, or below, the federal poverty level, and/or whose debt is 5% or more of their annual income. This ensures RIP Medical Debt is helping those most financially burdened by the medical debt crisis. Importantly, relief recipients will receive a letter in the mail informing them their debt has been abolished, and they should hold onto this letter for record keeping. Medical debt relief is source-based, meaning the nonprofit can only acquire qualifying debts from amenable providers like hospitals, physician groups or collection agencies and medical debt relief cannot be requested.
"Too many Bexar County residents are suffering from medical debt, which forces them to make difficult tradeoffs that prevent them from pursuing their goals and achieving financial stability," said RIP Medical Debt's President and CEO, Allison Sesso. "We are grateful for the work that EarnIn is doing to abolish this debt and enable people to advance their lives."
Bexar County residents benefiting from this debt relief program will be notified with letters starting to arrive Saturday, September 23, 2023. Per the Urban Institute, almost one in five Bexar County residents have medical debt (18%) and that jumps to 20% for communities of color.
To learn more about EarnIn's medical debt initiative, please visit earnin.com/medicaldebt.
About EarnIn
EarnIn lets you access your money as you earn it ? not days or weeks later.
We're on a mission to reimagine the way money moves to empower every person's potential. That starts with payday every day and builds with tools like Tip Yourself accounts1, Credit Monitoring, and Balance Shield2, a low-balance alert feature. All with no interest, no credit checks, and no mandatory fees3. So our customers have as many opportunities as possible to spend and save on their terms.
EarnIn's pioneering Earned Wage Access app is backed by world-class partners like A16Z, Matrix Partners, and DST. Since our founding in 2013, 3.8 million customers have given it over 380,000 5-star reviews for helping them access over $15 billion in earnings.
Learn more at EarnIn.com.
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1 Tip Yourself Account funds are held with Evolve Bank & Trust, member FDIC and FDIC insured up to $250,000. Tip Yourself is a 0% Annual Percentage Yield and $0 monthly fee service. Your Tip Yourself Account and any Tip Jars are not Savings Accounts. For more information/details visit earnin.com/tos
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