Comedian John Oliver made history Sunday night on his HBO show "Last Week Tonight" when he forgave $15 million in medical debts of 9,000 people. Oliver focused part of his show on exposing the debt buying industry, and to show how easy it is to go into the debt buying business. To illustrate this point, Oliver incorporated his own debt-buying company, "Central Asset Recovery Professionals," ("'Carp,' after a bottom-feeding fish") and purchased some $15 million in medical debt for pennies on the dollar. He then forgave all of that debt in what is believed to be the biggest TV giveaway ever.
Watch the full segment here:
Agree with Oliver or not, you can't deny that he just made a huge difference in the lives of lots of people, and his rants are both entertaining and well-researched. Medical care is extremely expensive in the United States, and there are gaps in insurance coverage that can leave people in a bind through no fault of their own. There's no easy fix to this situation.