Miranda Kerr and Evan Spiegel have helped pay off the medical debt of over 250,000 Americans.
The 43-year-old model and her Snapchat founder-CEO husband have shared a video online to assure Californians who might be getting a letter advising them their bills have been erased that the notices are real.
Evan, 35, said in the Instagram video: “Hey everybody, Evan and Miranda here. And today we are so excited because we’re announcing a partnership with Undue Medical Debt to relieve over half a billion dollars (S$647,000) of unpaid medical debt for more than 250,000 Californians.”
Miranda went on to reassure people that their letters are genuine and explained why the couple decided to get involved.
She said: “If you happen to receive a letter in the mail letting you know that your medical debt has been forgiven, we want you to know, it’s real…
“When someone you love is sick, all you want to do is focus on helping them get better. That’s why we wanted to support this effort and help relieve medical debt, so families can focus on caring for their loved ones and really supporting their healing.”
The couple explained people didn’t need to apply or fill in any forms to kickstart the process, but beneficiaries would just receive correspondence stating their debt has been “forgiven”.
The Kora Organics founder said she and Evan were keen to “shine a light” on the “incredible work” that Undue Medical Debt has been doing since the nonprofit was founded in 2014.
She said: “To everyone whose debt is being relieved through this effort, we’re sending you and your loved ones so much love.”
Evan added: “[We hope this brings] a little peace of mind and allows you to focus on what matters the most.”
One person revealed in the comments that they had benefitted from the scheme and thanked the couple for their generosity.
The user wrote: “I got a letter! And I was like, is this real!? And so it is, I was hoping to write a letter but it was anonymous so I’m happy to know who it is.
“Thank you so much for using your career and resources to make a positive impact on so many people. Bless you and your family!”
According to Undue Medical Debt, Evan and Miranda – who have sons Hart, eight, Myles, six, and two-year-old Pierre together, while she also has Flynn, 15, with ex-husband Orlando Bloom – made their undisclosed donation in the spring.
The charity’s website explained that, on average, every dollar donated to them can relieve $100 in medical debt.
The non-profit “buys and forgives medical debt for households earning at or less than four times the federal poverty level, and those for whom medical debt is at least 5 per cent of their annual income.”
Read the full article here
