The political action group known as Fair Fight, led by voting rights activist Stacy Abrams, has taken on a new initiative to tackle medical debt for working families. The group has taken its first step by donating $1.34 million to an initiative that will help alleviate debt for many families starting in the US South. The project is run by another organization called RIP Medical Debt and aims to settle debt for more than 108,000 families in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arizona.
Of the many issues crippling the United States today, medical bills are among the most dangerous for a family financially. One costly disease, injury, or condition can devastate a working class family as they will be forced to pay down debt for many years to come. In some cases, the debt payment can now extend across generations as the price to pay reaches astronomical levels. It is also more likely for you to have health problems if you live in a low income area so you are more likely to develop more serious health issues and the need for more debt to cover the costs. In this regard, it is holding people back from reaching their full potential as exorbitant medical bills keep hard working people in the vicious cycle of paying down debt instead of improving their standard of living.
This donation is a good first step in opening people's eyes to alternatives to the bleak reality. Ultimately, it will be up to our representatives on the state and federal level to pass legislation to expand medical benefits and cap the ever-increasing medical care prices. But to get to that stage, there needs to be a change in hearts and minds to make this an issue top of mind when voters go to the polls in the future. It will require a large public outcry to inflict change at this scale and I hope these organizations will have enough impact to make a difference.
Credit: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stacey-abrams-fair-fight-action-donation-medical-debt/
4 comments:
I find it interesting that they chose southern states to begin the initiative over other states. I wonder if this was strategic or if those were just a random selection of states. Medical bills are incredibly difficult for low income families to pay as they are very large amounts. However, implementing a system where medical benefits are expanded would result in higher taxes across the board. While it would allow for more access to those in lower income areas to have more medical options available, it would also make taxes higher for them to pay as well. Unfortunately, there is always a certain amount of give and take that needs to be considered.
I think this is a good initiative taken especially due to being on the supposed back end of a pandemic. It is hard for low income families to be able to pay for medical bills and be given the same treatment as high income families in America. This should really help the low income families especially in the states where this is starting but as stated above it comes with certain consequences.
To Ashleigh's comment, the government can raise taxes only on more affluent people such as people whose annual income is above $150,000 in order to implement the program for the less fortunate without taking more money from them. Also, one question it raises is that how do they choose which working family to help first? There are millions of people in need but the money resources are scarce. It would be interesting to know the criteria the program uses to determine who gets the aids first.
Before coming to the United States I was told that it is expensive to get medical treatment. I did not imagine that it is that expensive. This is a reason why I always bring my medicine with me. In my opinion, it is one of the best news that I have ever read. Many people in the US are not capable to see a doctor due to a lack of finance or health insurance. Hopefully, in the future, more families with low income will receive aid such as this.
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