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Jamestown - Democratic Congressional candidate Tracy Mitrano announced that residents of the 23rd Congressional District will see more than $500,000 in medical debt disappear in an instant, and that she will launch a five-city healthcare crisis listening tour. Mitrano's announcement came during a press conference at the Pendergast Library in Jamestown, N.Y. to highlight a unique partnership helping district residents out from under crushing medical debt.

Working with RIP Medical Debt, a 501©3 nonprofit organization, Drs. Ralph Walton (a renowned Chautauqua area medical professional) and Marguerite Uphoff (a champion of pediatric care), of Jamestown and Ithaca respectively, announced that they and other area doctors would purchase more than $170,000 of medical debt owned by individuals struggling with the burden. Their generosity will eliminate more than $500,000 of medical debt at one percent of original cost.

"I am proud of the patients I helped during my long career, but when I think of a patient whose family struggled to pay a bill or was impacted severely by the debt load, my heart breaks. I know there must be a better way and I wanted to draw attention to this crisis," said Walton, who was present for the announcement.

"Drs. Walton and Uphoff genuinely care about the well-being of residents in the 23rd congressional district. These dedicated professionals and their colleagues realize healthcare costs are too high, and we need to develop common-sense solutions. I applaud their efforts and look forward to working closely with them and other medical professionals across the district to address this crisis," Mitrano said.

Mitrano charged that Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) has consistently voted against providing affordable healthcare his constituents. She went on to detail Reed's continued acceptance of lavish re-election campaign contributions from major pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.

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