$1M​ Less ​of Medical​ ​Debt​ ​for​ ​Arizonans​

Better users have now forgiven $2M of debt across America

Today,​ ​we​ ​are​ ​excited​ ​to​ ​announce​ ​that​ ​we​ ​have​ ​abolished​ ​another $1M​ ​of medical debt; this time​ ​in​ ​Arizona.​ ​As​ ​part​ ​of​ ​our​ ​national​ ​campaign to #BeatJohnOliver​,​ Better is ​buying​ and forgiving​ ​$16M​ ​of​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​​across​ ​the​ ​country,​ ​in​ ​partnership with​​ ​​RIP Medical Debt.​ ​A huge thanks​ ​to​ ​all of ​our​ ​users​ ​who​ ​​made​ ​this possible.

1 in 4 Arizonans has Medical Debt

One quarter​ ​of the residents of​ ​Arizona​ ​have​​ ​past-due​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​and​ ​they​ ​are​ ​not​ ​alone.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​a national​ ​problem​ ​and​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​often​ ​happens​ ​to​ ​Americans​ ​through​ ​no​ ​fault​ ​of​ ​their​ ​own. In​ ​62​ ​percent​ ​of​ ​cases,​ ​middle-class​ ​Americans​ ​with health​ ​insurance​ ​are​ ​hit​ ​with​ unavoidable ​medical​ ​bills​ ​they​ ​can’t​ ​afford​ ​to​ ​pay.​ ​They face consequences​ ​when their ​medical​ ​bills​ ​go​ ​unpaid.​ ​As​ ​a​ ​​veteran​ ​with​ ​medical​ ​debt​​ ​explained​ ​to​ ​us,

“These​ ​doctors​ ​want​ ​their​ ​money​ ​ASAP,​ ​so​ ​once​ ​you​ ​go​ ​60–90​ ​days​ ​past​ ​due, BOOM!​ ​They​ ​send​ ​you​ ​straight​ ​into​ ​collections.”

–Jania, former Corporal, US Marine Corp

How​ Being in Debt Feels

Ken​ ​Alltucker​,​ ​healthcare​ ​reporter​ ​at​ ​the​ ​​Arizona​ ​Republic​,​ ​published​ ​an​ ​article​ ​about Thunderbird​ ​Collection​ ​Specialists.​ ​They​ ​are​ ​debt​ ​collectors​ ​from​ ​Scottsdale,​ ​AZ​ ​who​ ​have​ ​been the​ ​subject​ ​of​ ​state​ ​litigation​ ​due​ ​to​ ​aggressive​ ​collection​ ​techniques.​ Alltucker​ ​​reports​​ ​that​ ​a​ ​teacher,

“…received​ ​multiple​ ​calls​ ​at​ ​work,​ ​home​ ​and​ ​on​ ​her​ ​cellphone​ ​over​ ​her​ ​son’s $200​ ​medical​ ​bill.​ ​When​ ​she​ ​asked​ ​the​ ​debt​ ​collector​ ​not​ ​to​ ​call​ ​her​ ​at​ ​work​ ​or her​ ​son​ ​while​ ​she​ ​investigated​ ​the​ ​four-year-old​ ​bill,​ ​the​ ​person​ ​ignored​ ​her​ ​and often​ ​called​ ​both​ ​her​ ​school​ ​and​ ​her​ ​son.”

In​ ​her​ ​complaint​ ​filed​ ​in​ ​2016,​ ​the​ ​teacher​ ​wrote,

“I​ ​cannot​ ​express​ ​in​ ​writing​ ​how​ ​this​ ​man​ ​made​ ​me​ ​feel.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​an​ ​awful experience​ ​for​ ​an​ ​old​ ​bill​ ​that​ ​I​ ​didn’t​ ​even​ ​know​ ​I​ ​had.”

We​ ​did​ ​our​ ​own​ ​research​ ​into​ ​Thunderbird​ ​and​ ​discovered​ ​a​ ​2010​​ ​​Order​ ​to​ ​Cease​ ​&​ ​Desist​​ ​that contained​ ​14​ ​complaints​ ​about​ ​abusive​ ​collection​ ​calls.​ ​One​ ​individual​ ​reported​ ​“harassing​ ​and threatening​ ​phone​ ​calls​ ​over​ ​the​ ​previous​ ​two​ ​months​ ​regarding​ ​a​ ​$95.00​ ​medical​ ​bill.”​ ​Another reads,

“Complainant​ ​says​ ​they​ ​were​ ​continually​ ​harassed​ ​by​ ​a​ ​collector​ ​who​ ​yelled​ ​at her​ ​husband​ ​to​ ​pay​ ​their​ ​medical​ ​bills.​ ​The​ ​collector​ ​told​ ​her​ ​husband​ ​not​ ​to​ ​take their​ ​sons​ ​to​ ​the​ ​emergency​ ​room​ ​any​ ​more​ ​and​ ​hung​ ​up​ ​on​ ​him.”

Arizonans​ ​have​ ​filed​ ​439​ ​complaints​​ ​in​ ​the​ ​tracking​ ​system​ ​that​ ​began​ ​in​ ​2013,​ ​the​ ​11th​ ​highest in​ ​the​ ​US.​ ​Of​ ​those​ ​debts,​ ​63​ ​percent​ ​are​ ​either​ ​already​ ​paid,​ ​never​ ​owed​ ​to​ ​begin​ ​with​ ​or discharged​ ​through​ ​bankruptcy.​ ​Diane​ ​Brown​ ​from​ ​PIRG​ ​(Arizona​ ​Public​ ​Research​ ​Group)​ ​says,

“The​ ​line​ ​between​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​collection​ ​and​ ​consumers’​ ​protection​ ​needs​ ​to err​ ​on​ ​the​ ​side​ ​of​ ​ensuring​ ​the​ ​consumer​ ​actually​ ​owes​ ​the​ ​debt,​ ​and​ ​they​ ​had not​ ​already​ ​paid​ ​or​ ​had​ ​the​ ​debt​ ​discharged​ ​in​ ​bankruptcy…”

This​ ​is​ ​why​ ​we​ ​believe​ ​forgiving​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​is​ ​so​ ​important,​ ​so​ ​people​ ​with​ ​$95​ ​bills​ ​do​ ​not get​ ​threatened​ ​over​ ​the​ ​phone​ ​and​ ​parents​ ​are​ ​not​ ​warned​ ​against​ ​talking​ ​their​ ​children​ ​to​ ​the ER.

Why​ ​Abolish​ ​Medical​ ​Debt?

Better​ ​began​ ​this​ ​campaign​ ​to​ ​#BeatJohnOliver​ ​to​ ​do​ ​more​ ​than​ ​bring​ ​attention​ ​to​ ​ordinary Americans​ ​struggling​ ​with​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​they​ ​cannot​ ​afford.​ ​When​ ​our​ ​users​ ​abolish​ ​$1M​ ​debt, they​ ​are​ ​taking​ ​medical​ ​debt​ ​out​ ​of​ ​the​ ​hands​ ​of​ ​companies​ ​like​ ​Thunderbird.​ ​Instead​ ​of harassing​ ​Arizonans​ ​with​ ​phone​ ​calls,​ ​we​ ​abolish​ ​the​ ​debts.​ ​Then,​ ​they​ ​can​ ​be​ ​removed​ ​from credit​ ​reports​ ​and​ ​people​ ​can​ ​get​ ​on​ ​with​ ​their​ ​lives.

Thanks​ ​again​ ​to​ ​all​ ​our​ ​users​ ​for​ ​their​ ​support.​ ​Arizona​ ​was​ ​our ​second​ ​stop​ ​in​ ​our state-by-state​ ​campaign,​ ​ending​ ​on​ ​John​ ​Oliver’s​ ​doorstep​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​City.​ ​To​ ​discover​ ​our next​ ​stop,​ ​follow us @BetterClaims and help #BeatJohnOliver