Doctor forgives Rs 4.7 crore worth of Medical Bills for Cancer Patients

Cancer treatment in the United States can, in addition to the emotional and physical trauma, be a financially crippling disease for families with many continuing to pay their bills for decades on end and struggling with insurance rates. 

Oncologist Dr Omar Atiq was the founder of the cancer treatment center Arkansas Cancer Clinic that provided services ranging from chemotherapy and radiotherapy to diagnostic facilities to cancer patients.

In 2020, owing to a shortage of staff, the clinic finally had to close down after nearly 30 years of service. Going through the records, the Pakistani – American oncologist realized that his patients owed him over $ 650,000 in outstanding debts. A large part of this was because Atiq made sure that no cancer patient was ever denied treatment at the Arkansas Cancer Clinic, irrespective of their insurance status. 

When Atiq reached out to his patients to try to settle the pending debts, he realized that most of them did not have the means to pay for their huge medical bills – a condition worsened by the onset of the COVID19 pandemic. 

Mulling over the topic with his wife, Mehreen, Dr Atiq finally decided to offer one final way to heal the sufferings of his former patients.

Dr Omar Atiq (second from left) and his family

When Christmas arrived, nearly 200 of his former patients received a holiday card from their doctor. 

It read:

“The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to have you as a patient. Although various health insurances pay most of the bills for the majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome. ...The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients.”

After getting the approval of his wife and children and then discussing it with the executive vice President of the Arkansas Medical Society David Wroten, Dr Omar Atiq – the chairman elect of the board of governors of the American College of Physicians - worked with a billing company to cancel all the pending debts of his patients and ensure that none of them would either face any future financial repercussions or have their ability to receive credit in the future negatively impacted by this action.

"We thought there was not a better time to do this than during a pandemic that has decimated homes, people's lives and businesses and all sorts of stuff. We just thought we could do it, and we wanted to, so we went ahead and did it."

- Dr Omar Atiq

Dr Omar forgave over $650,000 ( ~ Rs 4.7 crores) of debt that his patients owed his clinic, the best Christmas surprise the families could have possibly received that year.

If you knew Dr. Atiq, you would better understand. First, he is one of the smartest doctors I have ever known, but he is also one of the most compassionate doctors I have ever known. He truly has a heart-felt love affair with the patients who he has seen.” 

- David Wroten

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