斯皮格尔夫妇捐款，为 26 万加州家庭免除 5.5 亿医疗债务

故事的主角，是社交软件 Snapchat 的联合创始人兼首席执行官，埃文·斯皮格尔。

The story's protagonist is the co-founder and CEO of the social app Snapchat, Evan Spiegel.

这个名字你或许有点陌生，但他的产品，你八成用过或者听说过。

The name may be unfamiliar, but you've most likely used or heard of his product.

就是那个主打阅后即焚、年轻人特别爱用的拍照聊天应用。

It's that photo-and-chat app built around disappearing messages, beloved by young people.

它最出名的一点，就是照片发出去、看完之后过一会儿就自动消失。

Its most famous feature is that photos automatically vanish a while after being viewed.

这个小小的创意，当年却牢牢抓住了全球无数年轻人的心。

That small idea captured the hearts of countless young people worldwide.

靠着它，斯皮格尔很年轻的时候就成了亿万富翁，身家大约二十一亿美元。

Thanks to it, Spiegel became a billionaire at a young age, worth about 2.1 billion dollars.

他的妻子，是那位大名鼎鼎的澳大利亚超模，米兰达·可儿。

His wife is the renowned Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr.

这一次两个人上头条，不是因为又赚了多少钱，也不是什么八卦。

This time the two made headlines not for making more money, nor for any gossip.

而是因为他们悄悄捐出了一大笔钱，替素不相识的陌生人还清了债。

But because they quietly donated a large sum to clear the debts of complete strangers.

要讲清楚这件事的分量，得先说说美国那个老大难的问题——医疗债务。

To grasp the weight of this, we first need to discuss America's chronic problem: medical debt.

在美国看病有多贵，几乎是全世界都知道的事。

Just how expensive US healthcare is — that's known the world over.

一旦没有保险，进一趟医院，账单动辄就是一个让人腿软的数字。

Without insurance, one hospital trip can bring a bill big enough to weaken your knees.

就算买了保险，很多项目也得自己承担相当大的一部分。

Even with insurance, you still shoulder a sizable share of many costs.

一场稍微严重点的病，欠下几万甚至几十万美元，一点都不稀奇。

A somewhat serious illness leaving you tens or hundreds of thousands in debt is nothing unusual.

于是无数普通家庭，仅仅因为一次生病，就背上了一辈子都未必还得清的债。

So countless ordinary families, from a single illness, take on debt they may never repay in a lifetime.

医疗债务最让人无力的地方在于，它是一种你根本躲不开的债。

The most helpless thing about medical debt is that it's a debt you simply can't dodge.

你可以选择不买房、不买车、不去旅行，但你没办法选择不生病。

You can choose not to buy a house, a car, or to travel — but you can't choose not to get sick.

有一组数据很能说明问题：差不多每四个美国成年人里，就有一个身上背着医疗债务。

One statistic says it all: roughly one in four American adults carries medical debt.

它也长期是美国人申请破产最主要的原因之一。

It has also long been one of the top reasons Americans file for bankruptcy.

很多人勤勤恳恳干了一辈子，最后却是被一张医院账单彻底击垮的。

Many work diligently their whole lives, only to be utterly crushed by a single hospital bill.

那么斯皮格尔和米兰达，到底是怎么帮忙的呢？

So how exactly did Spiegel and Miranda help?

他们很聪明，没有选择给每个人直接发现金，那样成本高、效率也低。

Smartly, they didn't hand cash to each person — that's costly and inefficient.

他们把钱交给了一家专门处理这件事的公益组织。

They gave the money to a nonprofit that specializes in exactly this.

这家组织的运作方式，说出来你可能会觉得有点不可思议。

The way this organization operates might strike you as unbelievable.

医院和催收公司手里，攒着大量根本收不回来的坏账。

Hospitals and collection agencies hold vast amounts of uncollectable bad debt.

与其无止境地催下去，它们更愿意用极低的价格，把这些债打包卖掉。

Rather than chase it endlessly, they'd rather sell that debt in bulk dirt cheap.

于是这家组织就低价把债买过来，再大手一挥，一笔勾销，彻底免除。

So this organization buys the debt cheaply, then with one sweep wipes it out entirely.

最妙的是这里面的杠杆：你每捐十美元，平均就能免掉一千美元的债务。

The beauty is the leverage: every ten dollars donated cancels, on average, a thousand dollars of debt.

换句话说，一块钱能顶一百块用，善款被放大了整整一百倍。

In other words, a dollar does the work of a hundred — the donation is amplified a hundredfold.

说起这家组织，它其实已经默默耕耘了十几年。

This organization has, in fact, quietly toiled for over a decade.

到今天为止，它在全美五十个州，累计免除的债务早已超过四百亿美元。

To date, across all fifty states, the debt it has cancelled has long surpassed 40 billion dollars.

所以斯皮格尔这五亿多，并不是孤零零的一笔，而是接在一条长长的接力线上。

So Spiegel's 500-million-plus isn't a lone gift, but the latest leg of a long relay.

正是靠着这套办法，斯皮格尔夫妇这一次，一共免除了五亿五千万美元的医疗债务。

By exactly this method, the Spiegels this time cancelled 550 million dollars of medical debt in all.

直接受益的，是加州大约二十六万个家庭。

The direct beneficiaries are about 260,000 California families.

其中圣地亚哥分到的份额最大，单单那一个地方，就有四万多人被免了债。

San Diego received the largest share; in that place alone, over 40,000 people had debt cleared.

洛杉矶等地，同样有大批人受益。

Places like Los Angeles saw large numbers benefit as well.

有意思的是，很多当事人此刻还蒙在鼓里，根本不知道天上掉下了这么大一个馅饼。

Interestingly, many of those affected are still in the dark, unaware of the windfall.

从七月中旬开始，一封封通知信，就会一批一批地寄到他们手上。

Starting mid-July, notification letters will arrive in their hands batch by batch.

信上写着：你的医疗债务已经被人替你还清，从此一笔勾销。

The letter reads: your medical debt has been paid off for you, wiped clean from now on.

你不妨想象一下那个画面。

Go ahead and picture the scene.

一个再普通不过的加州家庭，某天随手打开信箱。

An utterly ordinary California family casually opens the mailbox one day.

他们心里想的，多半是又来了一张催命的账单。

They likely expect yet another dreaded bill.

可拆开一看，竟然是一纸通知：你那压了许久的几万块债，没了。

But they open it to a notice: the tens of thousands you've long carried — gone.

那一瞬间卸下重担、长舒一口气的感觉，是多少钱都换不来的。

That instant of setting down the burden and exhaling is something no amount of money can buy.

为了让大家安心，米兰达还特意站出来说了句暖心的话。

To reassure everyone, Miranda stepped forward with a warm word.

她说，我们之所以想亲口告诉大家，就是怕你们不敢相信。

She said: the reason we want to tell you ourselves is that we fear you won't believe it.

毕竟天上掉馅饼这种事，谁第一反应都是先怀疑是不是骗局。

After all, with such a windfall, anyone's first reaction is to suspect a scam.

所以如果你真的收到这样一封信，请放一百个心，它是真的。

So if you really get such a letter, rest completely assured — it's real.

当然，这样一件好事，在网上也免不了引来不同的声音。

Of course, such a good deed inevitably draws differing voices online too.

有人是真的被感动到了，说这是看得见、摸得着的善举。

Some are genuinely moved, calling it a tangible act of kindness.

但也有人并不买账，觉得这不过是富人阶层内部的一场游戏。

But others don't buy it, seeing it as merely a game within the wealthy class.

他们的理由是，能被机构买下债务的，很多是中产家庭，未必是最走投无路的那一批。

Their reasoning: those whose debt gets bought are often middle-class, not necessarily the most desperate.

还有人追问：这么大一笔钱，是不是更应该直接送到最穷的人手里？

Some press further: shouldn't such a large sum go directly to the poorest?

平心而论，这些质疑，各自都有几分道理。

In fairness, each of these doubts holds some truth.

更值得我们冷静看待的是，免除债务，说到底只是替人擦掉了过去的伤口。

What deserves a cooler look is that cancelling debt, ultimately, only wipes away past wounds.

美国看病贵这个真正的病根，并不会因为一笔捐款就痊愈。

The real root — expensive US healthcare — won't be cured by a single donation.

今天免掉这一批，明天很可能又有新的一批人，欠上新的债。

Clear one batch today, and tomorrow another batch likely takes on new debt.

要从根子上解决问题，靠的从来不是几个心善的富豪，而是整个医疗制度的改变。

Solving it at the root has never depended on a few kind tycoons, but on reforming the whole healthcare system.

话虽如此，在制度慢慢转好之前，能有人愿意先伸手拉一把，就已经难能可贵。

That said, before the system slowly improves, someone willing to lend a hand first is already precious.

而且斯皮格尔和米兰达也不是孤例。

Moreover, Spiegel and Miranda are not an isolated case.

此前那位低调的女富豪麦肯齐，就多次捐出巨款做同样的事。

The low-key wealthy woman MacKenzie has, before this, repeatedly given huge sums for the same cause.

可以说，替普通人免除医疗债务，正在美国的富人圈里，悄悄变成一种新的风气。

You could say clearing ordinary people's medical debt is quietly becoming a new trend among America's rich.

不管你站在哪一边，有一点是无法否认的。

Whichever side you take, one thing is undeniable.

对那二十六万个家庭来说，长久压在心口的那块大石头，终于被人搬走了。

For those 260,000 families, the heavy stone long pressing on their chest has finally been lifted.

对他们而言，这不是一个抽象的数字，而是实实在在能喘口气的日子。

For them it isn't an abstract number, but real days when they can finally breathe.

今年这个夏天，他们大概能踏踏实实地睡上几个好觉。

This summer, they can probably sleep soundly for a few nights.

一个人有了钱，可以怎么花，其实很能看出他是个什么样的人。

How a person spends their money reveals a lot about who they are.

斯皮格尔和米兰达，这一次给出的答案，还算漂亮。

The answer Spiegel and Miranda gave this time is, all things considered, a fine one.

好，今天的故事就聊到这儿，我们下期再见。

Okay, that's where today's story ends; see you next time.