(KIWA Staff Photo)Sioux County, Iowa — Sioux County Democratic Party leaders tell us their organization is joining a national effort to help people burdened by the high cost of health care in our country.
Anita Cirulis, chair of the Sioux County Democrats, says that far too often, when people are hit by a medical emergency, it results in a financial crisis as well. She says medical debt burdens millions of Americans and totals nearly $500 billion nationwide.
Cirulis says that through Dems Work, a program of Contest Every Race, the Sioux County Democrats are partnering with an organization that helps relieve medical debt for pennies on the dollar—often $100 of debt for every dollar given. She says money raised by the Sioux County Democrats and five other Democratic county parties in Iowa will help Iowa families, which will be selected based on the size of their medical debt and income.
She tells us that every dollar raised will also be matched by Contest Every Race donors. She says that Democrats are committed to fixing our broken healthcare system, but in the meantime, this is a way for neighbors to help neighbors.
Along with raising money, the Dems Work medical debt relief program is collecting people’s stories about how medical debt or the high cost of health care has impacted them or someone they love. As the Dems Work (dems.work) website says, Relief is meaningful, but it doesn’t fix the broken health care system that puts people in medical debt to begin with. The more people understand what medical debt actually costs families, the harder it will be to keep it this way.
If you’d like to contribute to the Sioux County Democrats’ Medical Debt Relief Program, you can donate at tinyurl.com/SiouxDemsMedicalDebtRelief through Wednesday, September 30th.
