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The doctor reflected on his own fate and decided to help his patients Around 200 people start on 2021 without any medical debt thanks to the kindness of a medical oncologist than covered $ 650, 000 dollars of the debt of his patients.
The Dr. Omar Atiq, medical oncologist for almost 40 years, closed his clinic cancer clinic in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in March after nearly three decades.
Worked with a billing company for several months after closing to try to collect the payments from his former patients, but he soon made the decision to stop.
“Over time I realized that there are people who simply cannot pay” Atiq said to Good Morning America . “So my wife and I, as a family, thought about it and sought to forgive all the debt.”
“We saw that we could do it, so we went ahead and did it. we did, ”he said.
Christmas week, around 200 of former Atiq patients received a Christmas greeting that read: “I hope this note finds you well. The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to have him as a patient. Arkansas Cancer Clinic is closing its practice after more than 29 years of dedicated service to the community. The clinic has decided to waive all balances owed to the clinic by its patients. Happy Holidays. ”
The patients who received the notice had medical debts totaling thousands of dollars for their cancer treatments, according to Atiq.
“Since I started practicing medicine, I have always felt quite uncomfortable with sick patients who not only have to worry about their own health and quality of life and their longevity and their families and their jobs, but also for the money, ”he said. “That has always affected me.”
“You add the absolute devastation that the pandemic has caused and you think, thank God, that we are quite comfortable and that this was something we could at least do to help the community, ”said Atiq, who made the decision. together with his wife, Mehreen.
“Over the years, I have seen patients who simply had nothing or who went bankrupt trying to pay for their treatment,” he said. “In many ways, it seems like a totally unfair situation.”
Bea Cheesman, President of RMC of America, the billing company that worked with Atiq to forgive its patients’ debts, called her decision a “very nice gesture.”
“Dr. Atiq is a very caring person and it has always been very easy to work with him as a client,” Cheesman told the aforementioned media. “Personally, I think it is a wonderful thing what he and his family did to forgive this debt because people with oncology bills have more challenges than most of the population.”
Atiq, now Professor of Medical Sciences at the University from Arkansas in Little Rock, and his wife are the parents of four children , all are doctors or are studying medicine.
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