Hundreds of people are starting off 2021 without medical debt, thanks to an act of kindness from an oncologist in Arkansas. Dr. Omar Atiq closed his cancer clinic in Pine Bluff after 29 years and then erased $650-thousand of medical debt owed by his former patients.
He first worked with a billing company for a few months to try to collect payments, but then decided to stop. “Over time, I realized that there are people who are just unable to pay,” Dr. Atiq explains. He says he’s always been uncomfortable with sick patients not only having to worry about their own health, quality of life, their families but also money. His clinic made it a practice to never turn away people because they didn’t have insurance or money to pay, but now he’s taken that generosity to the next level.
Dr. Atiq and his wife decided to forgive all outstanding debt owed by people he treated. The week of Christmas, around 200 of his former patients got a letter letting them know that the clinic was wiping out their balance. Atiq says he hopes this makes their lives “just a little bit easier” and “gave them a little sigh of relief.”
Source:Good Morning America