There are 119 families Delaware County families who will no longer feel the crippling effect of a collective $163,632 in medical debt, writes Ximena Conde for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The debt was purchased for $15,000 by a Philadelphia group of self-described “mostly queer, gutter-pagan South Philadelphia dirtbags. ”

Their transaction was helped along by the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt. The group ended up forgiving the debt after purchasing it rather than collecting on it.

The debt purchase was made in a secondary market set up for hospitals or physician groups with outstanding bills who sell their debt portfolio for pennies on the dollar.

Debt collectors buy the portfolios and go after patients for payments.

In addition to Delaware County families, the group also erased the debt of 1,935 Philadelphia families and 160 Bucks County families.

In total, more than $2 million in debt was erased.

“This rocks, we’re very excited,” said South Philly union organizer Claire Hirschberg, who led the campaign with her friend Lou Garner, a nurse. “It’s so crazy to see that it’s so much more money than was originally estimated.”

To qualify for debt relief, people had to earn less than four times the federal poverty level or have debts that were 5 percent or more of annual income.

See how this medical debt relief project is now being taken up by other groups in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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