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Medical Debt

Canceled Medical Debt, Demonstrating Christ’s Love

by Le-Jovale Vallejo April 17, 2023

written by Le-Jovale Vallejo

Canceled medical debt is a demonstration of “a perfect real-world parable for what God does for us.”

Canceled Medical Debt, Nearly $3.3 Million

Winston-Trinity Salem’s Moravian Church has covered approximately $3.3 million in unpaid medical debt, the church said this week. Residents in Davidson, Davie, and Yadkin counties are having their medical debts covered.

Trinity Moravian’s pastor, Rev. John Jackman, said, “It’s a perfect real-world parable for what God does for us.”

The church plans to have a debt-burning ceremony as part of its worship service, Sunday. Additionally, burned is a list of the debts. The confetti and the church bell will sound along with it.

“A stay in the hospital can send a family into poverty or bankruptcy,” Jackman added.

Nearly $3.3 Million in Medical Debt

Furthermore, in the last three months, the church’s Debt Jubilee Initiative reported raising $15,047.

Based in New York, the charity organization RIP Medical Debt helped Trinity Moravian buy medical debt. Those that were being offered for sale to third-party collection agencies for pennies on the dollar.

3,355 families received letters from RIP on the church’s behalf. It was stated that their medical payments had been forgiven and were no longer collectible.

“We’re setting people free from the slavery of medical debt,” Jackman said.

Forgiving rather than collecting

On the official Facebook page of Trinity Moravian Church, the caption stated:

“It was announced today that the recent Davidson County campaign was able to purchase and forgive $3,296,863.64 in medical debts.

Davidson County: 3,133 individuals totaling $2,988,937.45
Davie County: 155 individuals totaling $192,815.53
Yadkin County: 67 individuals totaling $115,110.66

The average medical debt forgiven was about $1,000.

When poor families cannot afford to pay their medical debts, after initial collection attempts, the debts are often sold off to third party debt collectors for a penny on the dollar or less in a practice called factoring. The third party collector then has the legal right to demand the entire amount. Some use very aggressive tactics. This is where our Debt Jubilee Project, working with RIP Medical Debt, can intervene and purchase the debts – but we forgive them rather than collecting. Watch out for the next Debt Jubilee campaign!”

This is such an amazing show of God’s love. Many people lost their source of income during the pandemic, and some are just slowly recovering from it. Because of this initiative and God’s favor and grace, many people will receive not just financial freedom, but also the freedom of knowing Christ.

To God be the glory!

Header image: Burned dollars [Jp Valery]. Unsplash, 8 April 2019, https://unsplash.com/photos/mQTTDA_kY_8

Reference: Independent Tribune

April 17, 2023 0 comments

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Chicago Church Pays Off $19 Million Medical Debt Of Residents In The Community

by Rhoda Gayle September 16, 2020

written by Rhoda Gayle

A Chicago church pays off $19 million medical debt for residents in the Chicago metro area.

RIP Medical Debt

VIVE Chicago, a nondenominational church and member of many VIVE Campuses, has stepped up to help those in need. The church in Chicago, Illinois raised money to pay off medical debts of the residents in the metropolitan areas.

In partnership with the New York-based nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, $19 million medical debt were able to be paid off. VIVE lead pastor Adam Smallcombe said in an interview that they did what they could to help set families free. He said, financial debt “is a type of modern-day slavery imprisoning whole families and even generations into a cycle of poverty.”

“As the church and as Christians our mandate is to liberate people from all kinds of oppression because only free people can truly free people,” Pastor Adam said. “That’s why we felt as leaders it was necessary to bring this initiative to our church. And they responded with bold faith and generosity.”

VIVE Chicago

VIVE Chicago’s donation was a part of the “For Chicago” campaign. The campaign aims to cancel $78 million worth of medical debt for 71,000 families in Cook County.

“Every day, medical debt destroys the financial stability, health, and well-being of Americans across the country,” the campaign’s website states. “Especially now with unemployment in the U.S. at a staggering high, families in Cook County are not only losing their jobs but also their health insurance.”

The campaign aims to help families in need as the crisis escalates in the nation.

“$78 million of debt abolished is $78 million in renewed credit access. It’s parents able to recover from losing their jobs without having to choose between food on the table and paying their medical bills. It’s $78 million dollars back into the economy. A stimulus package that relies solely on the conviction and goodwill of our community. Abolishing medical debt in Cook County is something we can and must do.”

Reference: Christian Headlines

September 16, 2020 0 comments

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Cincinnati Church Pays Medical Debt Amounting $46.5 Million For 45,000 Families

by Rhoda Gayle February 28, 2020

written by Rhoda Gayle

A Cincinnati church pays medical debt amounting to $46.5 Million for 45,000 families in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana.

Cincinnati Church

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati is partnering with RIP Medical Debt to wipe out medical debts of thousands of families in four US states. RIP Medical Debt is a nonprofit organization that aims to remove the “burden of medical debt for individuals and families and veterans across America.”

“Churches are at our best when we are a blessing to real people in our communities,” Crossroads Church Senior Pastor Brian Tome said on Thursday. “We’re not here to just have big Sunday meetings.”

Bright Yellow Envelopes

The blessed beneficiaries will receive a letter on bright yellow envelopes to let them know the good news.

“They’ll get a letter that says, ‘Congratulations, your debt has been paid because someone loves you and there is a God that has not forgotten about you.'”

The Cincinnati church has wiped out $42.8 million in debt for 41,233 households in Ohio, $1.9 million in debt for 2,974 Kentucky families. A debt of $1.5 million for 503 Tennessee household and $200,000 for 136 Indiana families. They were able to pay a total of $46.5 million worth of medical debts for 45,000 families. It is the largest medical debt forgiveness program in the history of nonprofit organizations.

Beneficiary’s Response

On Sunday, Pastor Brian read a message from one of the recipients to the congregation.

“I received this piece of mail in this bright yellow envelope and started to throw it away,” Pastor Brian read. “But when I saw that it said your medical debt has been paid, I thought, ‘seriously, wait a minute’. When I read it I got emotional because I have been so needing a break with getting my credit together. I really appreciate the gift.”

Reference: Fox News

February 28, 2020 0 comments

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California Church Pays Off $5 Million In Medical Debts As A Christmas Gift

by Christel Berns December 26, 2019

written by Christel Berns

This Christmas season, more than 5,000 families in California were greatly blessed as their medical debts were cleared by a congregation as a “Christmas gift.”

Church pays of over $5M in medical debt for thousands of families l ABC News

Watch this video on YouTube

A week ago the Christian Assembly Church announced that the congregation was able to purchase $5.3 million in medical debt. And because of this, they were able to help 5,555 households.

The recipients were selected from some of the church members’ address. So those who received the huge blessing came from 28 different neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

A Christmas Gift

Tom Hughes, the co-senior pastor of the church revealed in the video that it was “a Christmas gift” and that they expect nothing in return.

“All 5,555 households are going to be getting a letter letting them know that their medical debt has been canceled, no strings attached, because of the generosity of the people of Christian Assembly Church,” he said.

“As they recover from their illness, it will help them get back on their feet and avoid homelessness. All of this is being done in Jesus’ name and the letter will share that as well.”

Company Surprises Employees With $10M In Christmas Bonuses

Pastor Tom viewed such measures as an example of “loving our neighbors far and wide.” It also showcases God’s generosity.

RIP Medical Debts

The church’s partnership with nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt made the initiative possible. It started in 2014 and took spotlight after being featured on the HBO talk show “Last Week Tonight”. It raises money in order to pay off medical debts of less fortunate people.

Moreover, RIP Medical Debt also works with churches across the U.S. Just like Christian Assembly Church, Victory Life Church of Battle Creek, Michigan also helped eradicate medical debt. They raised $3.89 million.

Pastor James Sunnock of Victory Life said, “All of that $3.8 million was for people within our community, and that’s what we loved about it.”

“It would be great to do it for anybody, but we wanted to invest and bring change within our community … The fact these are people in economically hard times, it felt good to do something without expecting anything in return.”

$1 Billion Medical Debt Eliminated

So far RIP Medical Debt has already eliminated $1 billion in medical debt. Which means more than 500,000 people have been blessed by the organization.

Founders Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton, however, believe that their work isn’t finished yet. Despite the huge milestone they said the work has just begun.

The founders revealed on December 12, “When we were first dreaming up RIP we decided to set an audacious goal: $1 billion of relieved medical debt.”

“To have reached that summit is an incredible accomplishment, but we also now see a much greater peak from this vantage point: billions more of un-payable medical debt burdening everyday Americans. Our work has just begun.”

Source: The Christian Post

December 26, 2019 0 comments

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Indiana Church Pays-Off $7.8 Million Medical Debt For Over 5,000 Families

by Rhoda Gayle October 25, 2019

written by Rhoda Gayle

A church in Indiana helped to settle about $7.8 Million in medical debt for over 5,000 families in the state.

Northview Church

Northview Church in Indiana together with RIP Medical Debt, an organization in New York, has teamed-up to help families with medical debt. They have collected more than $40,000 in a donations to pay for unpaid medical bills for families in the community. Northview Church is helping families in nearby communities such as Westfield, Peru, Northern Putnam County, Lafayette, Kokomo, Flora, Fishers, Carmel, Anderson, and Indianapolis.

The New York-based organization deals with doctors, hospitals, and investors to help pay debts at much lower prices.

“The debt is then paid off forever, with no adverse consequences to those who benefit,” Northview wrote in a statement.

Medical Debt

In June 2019, when the movement was announced, Northview Church received $20,000 in donations from its members. The donations were used to pay-off $2 Million worth of medical debt for 2,500 families. Soon after, other churches got involved in the movement so that more families could be given aid.

“This is a great example of churches meeting people’s needs in practical ways as a demonstration of God’s love,” Senior Pastor Steve Poe said.

As a result, they were able to wipe-out a total of $7.8 Million medical debts for 5,940 families. The Church helped whatever families needed help. Thus, many of the recipients were not even affiliated with the church.

“Recipients are not necessarily connected with Northview Church and will be surprised to receive beneficiary letters in the mail in the coming few weeks, communicating about the canceled debt,” Northview added.

This movement reflects the first core values of Northview Church which is creating environments that nurture meaningful human connection. They value real, raw and rich relationships with their members and the community.

Reference: Northview Church

October 25, 2019 0 comments