In what’s being called the biggest one-time giveaway in television history, comedian John Oliver has personally forgiven nearly $15 million in medical debt.
In doing so, Oliver highlighted the absurdity and borderline-legal practices of the debt-buying industry more than he took on the issue of runaway healthcare costs. But on his show “Last Night Tonight” on Sunday, he did show a couple of video clips about how medical debt can ruin families. The collection process, according to one woman, is often “humiliating, intimidating and it provokes a lot of anxiety.”
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Oliver sent a hidden camera to an industry meeting, the DBA International conference in Las Vegas and showed some of the practices of what he called a “grimy business.”
Oliver then explained how he rather easily set up his own debt-buying company over the Internet and easily purchased $14.9 million in delinquent medical debt from Texas for less than $60,000. The company got personal information on nearly 9,000 people.
“Instead of collecting on the money, why not forgive it?” Oliver asked, rhetorically. He instructed the debt seller to send the notes to a nonprofit called RIP Medical Debt. On its blog, the organization called Oliver’s action “Gratifying, and so very funny.”
This $14.9 million gift far exceeds the 2004 car giveaway by Oprah Winfrey, which Oliver said was worth nearly $8 million.
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Oliver noted that his action would only directly help the 9,000 people affected by the debt forgiveness. “The larger issue is, we need much clearer rules and tougher oversight to protect consumers from potentially predatory companies like the one that we set up,” he said.
The segment is nearly 21 minutes long, and some of the setup seems extraneous, but the really good part begins at around 17:15.
