Snapchat 老板捐钱，帮人免除医疗债务

Today we're talking about a piece of news from America.

This news made a lot of people happy.

In the story there's a very rich man.

His name is Spiegel.

You might not know him.

But you may have used something he made.

He made an app on the phone, called Snapchat.

A lot of young people like to use it.

Because of it, he became very, very rich.

He has a wife named Miranda.

Miranda is a very famous person.

The two of them both want to help others.

Okay, now let's talk about the money part.

In America, seeing a doctor is expensive.

Sometimes, one doctor's visit costs a lot of money.

Some people don't have that much money.

They can only owe the hospital money for now.

This money owed, we call it medical debt.

In America, many people have this kind of debt.

This debt is a very big problem.

Many people, because of medical care, owe a lot of money.

They worry every single day.

They don't know how to repay this money.

Some people get one serious illness and end up owing a lot.

Some people sell their own things just to repay the money.

In America, medical debt is a very big problem.

Roughly one in every four people has this kind of debt.

So this isn't one person's problem — it's many people's.

Spiegel and Miranda learned about this.

They wanted to help these people.

They found an organization.

What this organization does is very special.

They use very little money to buy a lot of debt.

You might ask: why buy debt?

Because after buying it, they cancel the debt.

Cancelling it means: this money, you don't have to repay.

You might find this strange.

Why can this debt be bought with so little money?

Because many hospitals know some people really can't repay.

Rather than wait forever, better to sell it off cheap.

So this organization can do a big thing with very little money.

What's even better is this number.

You donate ten dollars, and it cancels a thousand dollars of debt.

So a little money can help many people.

Spiegel and Miranda donated a lot of money.

How much debt did they cancel in all?

550 million US dollars.

That's a very, very big number.

How many people no longer have to repay?

Roughly 260,000 families.

These people all live in California.

California is a place in America.

In California, the city of San Diego got the most help.

There, roughly 40,000 people no longer have to repay.

Actually, this organization has been doing this for many years.

It has helped people in many places across America.

To date, it has cancelled over 40 billion dollars of debt.

Besides Spiegel, other famous people are doing this too.

One very famous woman also donated a lot to cancel others' debt.

Now, these people can live well.

In a few days, they'll receive a letter.

The letter says: your medical debt is gone.

Miranda also said something very important.

She said: if you get a letter like this, please believe it.

It's real, not fake.

Your debt really is gone.

Why did she say this?

Because some people don't dare believe something this good.

In America, other rich people do this too.

They use their own money to help others clear their debt.

This is a very good thing.

A person with money can spend it on themselves.

Or they can give it out to help many people.

Spiegel and Miranda chose to help others.

Of course, some people see it differently.

Some say this is a great thing.

Others say this money should go to the poorest people.

No matter what you think, one thing is true.

260,000 families are now truly much more at ease.

They no longer have to think about debt every day.

They can sleep well now.

That's it for today's news.

Thank you for listening.