TransUnion Healthcare Announces Support of RIP Medical Debt to Help Consumers Avoid Bankruptcies

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. To help consumers faced with mounting medical bills avoid bankruptcy, TransUnion Healthcare announced today that it is supporting the efforts of RIP Medical Debt (RIP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in metropolitan New York, but working nationally. RIP, founded in 2014, has a single mission: to help relieve deserving Americans and veterans of medical expenses they are unable to pay.

“Our nonprofit uses donor funds to locate and then purchase unpaid and unpayable medical debt,” said Craig Antico, CEO and co-founder of RIP Medical Debt. “With TransUnion’s support, we can further address the difficult problem of identifying those individuals who are truly charity-worthy and take the next step of actually removing that debt burden.”

RIP Medical Debt will be using TransUnion Healthcare’s financial assessment solution to both evaluate portfolios of debt they own and to locate new medical debt. The nonprofit utilizes credit data for the purpose of purchase and forgiveness of medical debt that meets specific criteria of the donors.

Earlier this year, TransUnion published findings from an analysis that found patients experienced an 11% increase in average out-of-pocket costs during 2017. These costs increased to $1,813 at the conclusion of 2017, compared to $1,630 one year earlier. TransUnion also found that more than half (51%) of patient out-of-pocket costs per healthcare visit in 2017 were $501 or higher.

“At TransUnion, we pride ourselves on using our data to help both business customers and consumers. Through this partnership, RIP Medical Debt will be able to more accurately and efficiently identify those who truly need help with medical debt,” said Dave Wojczynski, president of TransUnion Healthcare.

“This partnership provides a responsible and socially-conscious solution for the medical and collections industry who want to relieve people of unpayable bills in a fashion that does not entail tax consequences for the recipient. That we can forgive debt for as little as a penny on the dollar also ensures that our supporters get the greatest effective use of their donations,” added Jerry Ashton, RIP Medical Debt co-founder and EVP.

For additional information about TransUnion Healthcare, please visit: www.transunionhealthcare.com.

About RIP Medical Debt

RIP Medical Debt locates, buys and forgives medical debt across America, the only industrialized nation on earth with personal medical debt. We work on behalf of individual donors, philanthropists and organizations who provide financial relief for people burdened by unpaid and unpayable medical bills. A special focus is forgiving the medical debt of U.S. veterans and military troops. www.ripmedicaldebt.org

About TransUnion Healthcare

TransUnion Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of credit and information management company TransUnion, is a trusted provider of Revenue Protection^TM solutions that help providers collect more cash up front and throughout the revenue cycle, and identify and maximize reimbursement opportunities to reduce bad debt. By leveraging our data assets, market-leading revenue cycle management technologies, and deep insights into consumer financial behavior, our customers are better enabled to reduce uncompensated care, engage patients early and improve cash flow. www.transunionhealthcare.com

About TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)

Information is a powerful thing. At TransUnion, we realize that. We are dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used to help individuals make better and smarter decisions. We help uncover unique stories, trends and insights behind each data point, using historical information as well as alternative data sources. This allows a variety of markets and businesses to better manage risk and consumers to better manage their credit, personal information and identity. Today, TransUnion has a global presence in more than 30 countries and a leading presence in several international markets across North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia. Through the power of information, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies and families and safer communities worldwide.

We call this Information for Good^SM.

http://www.transunion.com/business