I write my Advent posts several days in advance. Did you really think that I'm up pass midnight waiting until the exact minute of the day to post these with the corresponding date?
I had a charity in mind for today when I was at work at saw that some of the students at the school I teach at were working to raise money for a cause. Inspired by their enthusiasm, I decided to research the charity. I wasn't previously aware of them, so I wanted to make sure that it was appropriate for my blog. Well, I did and it is.
The charity is called Undue Medical Debt. Now I know that my wife posted earlier in this Advent about a medical related charity. That one covers medicines and is contained to just the patients who call North Carolina home. Undue, as my kids call it, helps anyone who qualifies for assistance throughout the entire United States.
I don't think anyone can deny that our nation's medical costs are insane. Not just are they expensive, they're MENSA level difficult to understand. I pay a co-pay and a deductible which my insurance does a great job keeping up with. Yet for some reason, probably greed, the hospital and general practitioner offices will try to get me to pay more than those costs my insurance claim that I owe. Thankfully, my wife has a better understanding of this because of her job in medical care, because I sure as heck can't. And honestly, it should be illegal for hospitals to charge you more after your insurance has paid your bill.
Don't think that I am on the insurances side. It should also be against the law to deny someone coverage because of an unexpected emergency or the patient gets bad advice from the doctor. Last year, I passed out from a stomach virus and had a really fast heartbeat. I was advised to stay overnight and have my heart monitored. Freaking out, my wife and I agreed for the stay, even though I really wanted to go home. Needless to say my insurance is refusing to cover that part of my emergency. And yes, I am fighting it!
Unfortunately, Undue is unable to just erase an individual person's medical debt. Instead, they act like a debt collector in reverse. With funds raised, Undue contacts hospitals and medical care centers who are willing to sell off their debt portfolios. For every $1 the charity raises, they manage to have $100 of a patient's medical debt erased.
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An area DJ was the recipient of this kind of relief. He likened it to winning the lottery as he wasn't expecting it. I consider it a miracle blessing.
Undue Medical Debt was founded in 2014, under the original moniker RIP Medical Debt. As of September of this year, the charity has reported the elimination of Nearly $23 billion for almost 15 million people.
Look, you might not have any medical debt. If that's the case, you've been extremely lucky. But it's a very real possibility that something could happen to any of us unexpectedly, at any moment. Before you know it, you may need help with an unnecessary medical bill. Why not pass it forward this holiday season and donate to the cause today?
Today's Advent song present is a sad one. It reflects the struggle families face during the holidays with financial insecurity - just like hundreds of thousands of Americans do with crippling medical debt. Not to mention parents who are struggling to provide essential medical care for their seriously sick and infirmed children. Thus I offer to you Merle Haggard's 1974 epic, If We Make It Through December.
Enjoy...
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