Medical debt.
The words alone will send a shiver down most people’s spines.
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Last summer, comedian John Oliver brought the sheer enormity of medical debt to the world’s attention when he forgave $14.9 million of it.
Oliver’s giveaway resonated with Rachael Norman, cofounder of Better, a San Francisco, California-based startup. In 2016, she and John Stockdale cofounded the company to make it easier for people to file out-of-network insurance claims. And now they’re pledging 100 percent of Better’s revenue to buy back and forgive $16 million of medical debt.
“I founded Better because I understand firsthand how frustrating and difficult it can be to navigate our complex healthcare system,” Norman said via email. “We come to work every day to help as many people as we can. Dedicating our early revenue to buying back and forgiving medical debt is another way that we can help Americans struggling with the system.”
Better’s goal — to forgive the medical debt of 10,000 Americans — is a daunting task. That’s why the startup is partnering with RIP Medical Debt, a New York City-based nonprofit organization that abolishes unpaid and unpayable medical debt.
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“The team at RIP Medical Debt are experts on the medical debt crisis and were immediately supportive of our campaign,” Norman said. “We all want the same thing — which is to help the 1 in 5 Americans burdened by medical debt.”
Better is beginning its quest in California and expects the campaign to last several months. The company won’t stop until it has secured the grand total of $16 million in debt forgiveness, Norman said.
This isn’t the first monumental experience for the startup. Earlier this year, it raised $1.1 million to recruit engineers and expand its customer base. Initialized Capital led the funding round. Designer Fund also participated, as did multiple angel investors including Lee Linden, Halle Tecco and Brent Goldman. Sean Plaice, Ray Bradford, Tim Trefren and Alex Balandin also backed Better.
Through the company’s app, patients take a picture of their medical receipts and transmit it to Better. After reviewing the documents, Better works with payers and providers to fix errors. It then files the claim with the patient’s health insurance company.
