• The county will use $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to purchase the medical debt of Oakland County residents for a fraction of its cost, then eliminate their debt.
• The national non-profit organization RIP Medical Debt will work with local health systems on behalf of the county to identify thousands of Oakland County residents who have unpaid medical bills. Qualifying debtors will be notified by mail when debts are abolished.
• Oakland County’s medical debt forgiveness program has the potential to help up to 80,000 residents.

Pontiac, Mich. ­– Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, in partnership with the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt, will leverage $2 million of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to purchase up to $200 million in medical debt of Oakland County residents for a fraction of its cost, then wipe clean their debt.

“No matter what a person’s circumstances are, a medical crisis can be devastating for them and their families – physically, financially, and emotionally,” said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter during a news conference at Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit in Royal Oak on Thursday, Oct. 19. “We should do what we can to help people who find themselves on the brink of bankruptcy due to a health condition or emergency.”

Approximately 114,000 Oakland County residents carry medical debt. It is the number one source of bankruptcy in the United States and is especially prevalent in communities of color and rural areas. The average medical debt is $2,500 per household. Oakland County’s medical debt elimination program has the potential to help up to 80,000 residents.

“Medical debt hurts working families, ruins credit, and makes life more expensive,” Board of Commissioners Chair David T. Woodward of Royal Oak said. “Wiping out medical debt for county families is one more way we’re building an economy that works for everyone, from the bottom up and the middle out.”

The non-profit RIP Medical Debt is a national organization that acquires and abolishes medical debt for people experiencing financial hardship. Its qualifications for relief are debts belonging to people who earn less than four times the federal poverty level or for whom a debt is five percent or more of one’s annual income. Once a contract is in place, their staff will implement Oakland County’s medical debt elimination program by working with area hospitals to identify residents who fit the criteria for relief. Then on behalf of the county, RIP Medical Debt will buy the medical debt for pennies on the dollar and abolish it.

“We know that medical debt is detrimental to health because families delay care when they have debt which increases the burden of disease in communities,” said Deputy County Executive Madiha Tariq, who oversees the Health and Human Services Department. “Medical debt is also a huge blow to our economy, impacting the workforce, housing, and deepening the cycle of poverty.”

This is not a medical debt relief program to which residents can apply. RIP Medical Debt will notify individuals by branded letter that some or all their debt has been canceled and cleared from their credit reports.

Michigan resident Kyra, who lives with the challenges of diabetes, shared her story with news conference attendees. RIP Medical Debt purchased and wiped clean approximately $3,500 of her medical debt.

Kyra was diagnosed with diabetes at age 10 – a chronic condition that runs in her family. During her teen years, her family’s medical insurance paid for the management of her condition. As a young adult, she was without medical insurance coverage, accumulating debt, and struggling to keep her job. After RIP Medical Debt purchased and abolished her debt, she was able to move her life forward. Today, she is working a job which pays more than she earned when she was under the burden of medical debt.

“Being free from medical debt is a breath of fresh air,” Kyra said. “No bothering calls or threatening letters. To be honest, I don’t feel overwhelmed anymore and this all happened at the right time.”

Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit, which provides support, education and wellness programming to cancer patients and families, has witnessed the toll of medical debt on their community.

“Financial toxicity is among the top stressors of families facing cancer,” said Laura Varon Brown, CEO of Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit. “At a time when families have so many complexities and fears weighing on them, how to pay for hope should not be among them.”

Oakland County Commissioner Charlie Cavell of Ferndale, representing District 19, who has been an advocate for this program at the Board of Commissioners, voted yes for this program when it won final board approval on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Next up, RIP Medical Debt and the county will enter into a contract while the non-profit approaches local hospitals to source qualifying medical debts for abolishment.

“In my 20’s, I was unable to afford insurance and got sick on a mission trip. I had more than $6,000 in medical debt, which kept me from seeing the doctor, building credit, accessing job opportunities because I could not get a car loan, and more,” Cavell said. “Learning from RIP Medical Debt that there are tens of thousands of families in Oakland County going through the same thing I went through, and then having a solution for their situation was a humbling and transformational experience for me, and something that’s been meaningful to bring to my work as a commissioner.”

With support from state and local governments, individual donors, philanthropic organizations, and faith-based organizations, RIP Medical Debt, founded in 2014 by former debt collectors, has acquired and abolished more than $10 billion in medical debt for more than seven million people. To achieve this, they partner with hospitals, health systems, and physician groups to acquire medical debt for abolishment. For more information about RIP Medical Debt, go to www.RIPMedicalDebt.org.

• • Oakland County is eliminating the boundaries between communities and truly creating a countywide public transportation system, such as SMART’s new fixed-route service to Novi.
  • Ridership is up more than 20 percent for WOTA, NOTA, OPC, and People’s Express after they expanded service areas and hours of operation.
  • The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is facilitating a regional federal grant application for Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties and SMART to attract federal investment in transit.

Pontiac, Mich.– Public transit is making strides in Oakland County nearly a year after voters approved a public transportation millage. Multi-year agreements were in place with SMART, Western Oakland Transportation Authority (WOTA), North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA), the Older Persons’ Commission (OPC), and People’s Express weeks after the vote while route and service planning continues with input from communities, businesses, and residents.

“Easily accessible, reliable and affordable transportation will help make Oakland County an even more attractive destination for residents, employers and visitors,” said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter. “Countywide public transportation has always been a top priority for me and the progress that has been made since voters agreed to fund the expansion is truly remarkable.”

Oakland County and its transportation service providers are expanding and improving public transit as the planning process continues. Some highlights include:

• Ridership is up more than 20 percent for WOTA, NOTA, OPC and People’s Express this year.
• WOTA, NOTA, OPC, and People’s Express expanded their service areas and operation hours.
• The fees to ride WOTA, NOTA, OPC, and People’s Express are standardized at $2 per ride.
• Oakland County is eliminating the boundaries between communities and truly creating a countywide public transportation system.
• SMART has expanded fixed routes to Novi and Wixom.
• SMART has a fixed route stop at Woodward and Long Lake in Bloomfield Hills.
• SMART is using Farmington, Pontiac and Troy as Flex micro-transit demonstration routes, which began prior to the millage approval but will inform where and how to serve future riders.
• The Oakland County Transit Division is completely staffed with an experienced transit manager and two planners.
• Oakland County is helping transit providers with some of the funds they need to expand and diversify their fleets.
• The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is facilitating a regional federal grant application for Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties and SMART to attract federal investment in transit, including for Woodward Bus Rapid Transit. This would not have been possible if Oakland County did not have county-wide public transportation.
• Next year, SMART will extend fixed routes from Troy into Rochester and from Pontiac into Waterford and White Lake along M-59, among other improvements.

“We are pleased to work with Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairman David T. Woodward in supporting their efforts and those of the residents in providing greater access to communities by way of SMART’s bus transit in Oakland County. The expansion of routes provides economic growth, economic security, and regional competitiveness,” said Dwight Ferrell, general manager of SMART.

Oakland County’s transit goals include the growth of demand response through the county’s four local operators and SMART Flex for the public to schedule point-to-point rides.

“Better transit in Oakland County unlocks more opportunities for residents,” Board Chairman David T. Woodward said. “New routes to more destinations is one more step to creating the most connected, accessible and equitable transit system in our region’s history.”

The county’s other goals are to coordinate services among the different transit providers, expand transit to unserved and underserved areas, develop a long-term countywide plan that considers all transit options and where they should be implemented, enable more seamless transit trips, make transit stops easier, safer and more comfortable, implement higher frequency, higher capacity transit including bus rapid transit, support the transition to low/zero-emission transit vehicles, and support transit-oriented development.

As Oakland County transit grows, transportation providers are still experiencing hiring challenges and delays in getting equipment which have slowed some efforts this year. The county and its transit providers, however, are working to resolve these issues so the entire system is stronger next year.

Of the total budget for the 10-year, 0.95 millage for transit approved by voters in November 2022, 79 percent of the funds are directed to transportation services with SMART, NOTA, WOTA, OPC and People’s Express. This year, one percent went to local governments for reimbursement for transportation they provided in 2023. Another one percent has paid administration costs. The remaining 19 percent is available for future services and service access enhancements.
SMART serves a more populous portion of the county while WOTA, NOTA, OPC and People’s Express cover a greater geographic area.

Additional information about transit services can be found on the Transit Division’s website at oakgov.com/OaklandTransit.

• Virtual job fair will take place from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17.
• Registration is required at bit.ly/OC-VirtualJobFair.
• To learn more about available positions, go to oakgov.com/jobs.

Pontiac, Mich., – Apply for more than 70 full- and part-time positions at Oakland County’s virtual career fair. Registration is required for the job fair, which runs 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at bit.ly/OC-VirtualJobFair.

“We have incredibly talented people who make up our workforce at Oakland County,” Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said. “Whether you are beginning your career or advancing it, Oakland County has a broad range of positions available in a welcoming work environment.”

County departments and divisions that are hiring include Vehicle Operations, Information Technology, Corporation Counsel, Parks, Sheriff’s Office, Workforce Development, Children’s Village, Human Resources, Water Resources Commissioner, Community Corrections and Equalization. These departments will have virtual booths at the job fair to answer questions about county operations, the diverse career opportunities that are available, and what it takes to get hired and succeed.

Some of the positions include social worker, maintenance laborer, general staff nurse, sheriff deputy, custodial worker, office support clerk, dispatch specialist, legal secretary and more. To explore the available jobs or for more information about working at Oakland County, visit oakgov.com/jobs.