Advertisement

Saints' Michael Thomas makes $20,000 donation that will wipe out $2 million of medical debt

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas has made a major contribution to help people in New Orleans who are struggling with medical debt.

Thomas, 27, made a $20,000 donation to the charity RIP Medical Debt, which buys and completely forgives the medical debt of people at or near the poverty line. Thomas partnered with the charity to forgive the debt of people in the New Orleans area. Once their debt is forgiven, RIP Medical Debt works with them to improve their credit score, which is often decimated when people can’t afford to pay crippling medical bills.

The $20,000 Thomas donated will go much farther than just $20,000. Because RIP Medical Debt buys up medical debt for pennies on the dollar, Thomas’s $20,000 will wipe out $2.3 million in medical debt for 1,025 people in the Greater New Orleans area. Since RIP Medical Debt was founded in 2014, they’ve forgiven over $1.3 billion in medical debt all across America.

"I'm honored to support my community in this way and make an impact in the city that's been so welcoming to me," Thomas said via nola.com. "I hope these families get a little relief in knowing their medical bills have been taken care of during these very difficult times in our country."

Thomas signed a five-year, $100 million extension with the Saints in 2019. He caught 149 passes last year, an NFL record.

The Saints' Michael Thomas made a donation that will forgive medical debt for 1,025 people in the New Orleans area. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The Saints' Michael Thomas made a donation that will forgive medical debt for 1,025 people in the New Orleans area. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

More from Yahoo Sports: