Title
Resolution authorizing the Mayor and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh, to enter into an Agreement or Agreements with a vendor chosen through the City bid process for the purpose of purchasing and discharging RIP Medical Debt to purchase and discharge eligible health care debt owed by Pittsburghers, as approved in the City of Pittsburgh's American Rescue Plan, at a cost not to exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000).
(Briefing held 1/9/23)
Body
WHEREAS, more than 100 million Americans-41% of adults-are burdened by health care debt; and,
WHEREAS, 1 in 3 indebted Americans owes less than $1,000 in health care debt, 1 in 4 indebted Americans owes more than $5,000, and 1 in 8 indebted Americans owes $10,000 or more; and,
WHEREAS, about 1 in 5 of Americans with any amount of health care debt do not expect to ever be able to pay it off; and,
WHEREAS, health care debt appears in every age group: 55% of adults ages 18-29, 69% of adults ages 30-49, 60% of adults ages 50-64, and 37% of adults older than 65 have all incurred health care debt in the last five years; and,
WHEREAS, health care debt appears across racial and ethnic groups: 54% of white adults, 69% of black adults, and 64% of Hispanic adults have all incurred health care debt in the last five years; and,
WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a disproportionate share of the 1 in 5 American households across the U.S. that owe an average of $2,000 in medical debt are Black and Latino; and,
WHEREAS, indebted American adults have cut spending on food, clothing, and other basics, used up all or most of their savings, taken on extra work, delayed buying a home, postponed their education, sought aid from charities or nonprofits, changed their living situ; and,
WHEREAS, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) February 2022 report titled "Medical Debt Burden in the United States," 58% of debts recorded in collections were ...
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