New Partnership Enables Denny Buehler Memorial Foundation to Expand Local Impact
Cincinnati Nonprofit Announces Plan to Forgive $1 Million in Medical Debt
New Partnership Enables Denny Buehler Memorial Foundation to Expand Local Impact
CINCINNATI, OH, September 4, 2018
Cincinnati-based nonprofit, The Denny Buehler Memorial Foundation (DBMF), announces an exciting new partnership with national nonprofit RIP Medical Debt. The organizations plan to purchase and forgive $1 million of medical debt belonging to families and individuals in the Cincinnati area. For the past forty years, DBMF has held an annual fundraiser to assist local families, many of whom were struggling under the weight of medical bills. Made famous by HBO’s John Oliver, RIP Medical Debt has abolished over $120 million dollars of medical debt by purchasing debt for pennies on the dollar and removing it from the market. Through this partnership, DBMF will bring RIP’s amazing work to our region.
One in five American families struggle financially because of medical bills, and medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in our country. DBMF aims to become a leader in addressing medical debt in the Cincinnati area. The partnership formed when Jenny Spring, DBMF President, and Edwin J. Buehler, Vice-President, met with RIP at their headquarters in NYC. Ms. Spring is excited about the possibilities: “How many of us have contributed to a GoFundMe because our loved ones can’t afford to pay their medical bills? Families are struggling with this as the price of healthcare soars. When we learned how crippling medical debt had become in our region and how far every dollar could go towards relieving debt, it was a no-brainer. Partnering with RIP Medical Debt gives us a much broader scope and the ability to impact more struggling families in our community.”
To contact the DBMF, call 513-909-4828 or email info@DennyBuehler.org.
For more information about the DBMF and its mission, or to make a donation, visit the website https://www.dennybuehler.org/.
For more information about RIP Medical Debt vist https://www.ripmedicaldebt.org/.
About the Denny Buehler Memorial Foundation:
The DBMF has continuously operated since 1980 when it was formed as the Denny Buehler Memorial Tournament – a Cincinnati area, co-ed softball tournament which raises money for individual families in the local community who are struggling financially because of medical debt. When struggling to make ends meet in the face of mounting medical bills, over 50 families and individuals have received direct financial assistance from the DBMF.
Hosted at Spoils Field in Greenhills, OH since 1980, the Denny Buehler Memorial Tournament is the DBMF’s largest annual fundraiser. It is a mixed couples softball tournament with up to 18 teams vying for the championship. The first tournament was held to benefit Denny Buehler as he battled leukemia. Denny was 24 years old with a wife, Peggy, and three small children when he was diagnosed. Sadly, Denny passed away in February, 1981, but the tournament lived on in his name. Proceeds go directly to families dealing with catastrophic health events. The dates for the 2019 tournament are July 12-14, 2019.
The DBMF, through its affiliation with RIP Medical Debt, has established a goal of forgiving $1 million in Medical debt to Cincinnati area families by 2020.
About RIP Medical Debt:
RIP Medical Debt was founded in 2014 by two former debt collection industry executives, Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton. Having respectively worked for decades in the healthcare debt collection sector, the two were acutely aware of the financial and emotional burden wrought by unpaid (and often unpayable) medical debt. Using their keen understanding of the medical debt industry, they were uniquely positioned to effect significant change by working on behalf of debtors. RIP, their nonprofit, buys medical debt portfolios from hospitals and physician groups with donated money to settle in full, and alleviate, the debt of those who simply can’t pay.