Consumer advocate, Jesse Jones, of CBS affiliate KIRO 7 in Seattle, Washington recently surprised 1,000 viewers by paying off all their medical debts.  Jones, who is a cancer survivor, is no stranger to the stress of large medical bills.  Even though he was employed and had health insurance, he found digging his way out of the mountain of medical debt to be a daunting and nearly hopeless task.  After producing a news segment on how medical debt is constantly sold and resold to various companies for profit, even while the patients are burdened with more fees, interest and penalties, he wanted to do something more than just tell a story.  He wanted to change lives.

Jones convinced KIRO 7 to partner with RIP Medical Debt, a New York based company that works with philanthropists to provide financial relief to people with unpaid or unpayable medical debts.  As a result, the station paid off $1 million worth of medical bills for 1,000 very surprised and grateful viewers.

Photo:  Jones/credit:  KIRO 7