Hats Off: Doctor Wipes Away And Clears $650,000 In Medical Debt
Jeff & Aimee in the Morning is giving a Hats Off to a doctor in Arkansas!
Dr. Omar Atiq opened the Arkansas Cancer Clinic 29 years ago with the hope to give patients the best treatment possible. The clinic is located within an underserved community in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, according to CBS.
Soon after, Dr. Atiq took on more work at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center. After years of working both at the clinic and the medical center he decided to close down the clinic.
While going through the files of invoices Dr. Atiq was shocked to see how much people were paying.
“Just browsing through it, I realized that there were patients that were paying $10 for months on end or $5 or $50,” Atiq told CBS News. “Patients wanted to pay, but they just didn’t have the ability to pay. And at the same time, the country was in the grip, and still is in the grip, of the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated lives in more ways than one, ” said Atiq in an interview.
Taking matters into his own hands Dr. Atiq decided to clear patients of their medical debt, totalling $650,000 in medical debt. The first round of debt clearing happened in June and another on Christmas.
“Luckily, we were blessed to have the opportunity to just forego the debt. Just cancel it. So we did,” Dr. Atiq said. “We didn’t, luckily, need the money, somebody else did. So it was done.”
Although Dr. Atiq didn’t want attention for the good deed many of his patients still reached out to thank him!
