New Mexico church wipes out nearly $1.4M worth of medical debt for 782 households

St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Santa Fe, N.M., paid off $1,380,119.87 in medical debt belonging to 782 households, NBC affiliate KSNV reported July 12.

The church wiped out the debt via a partnership with RIP Medical Debt. For every $100 donation, the New York City-based nonprofit forgives $10,000 in medical debt. RIP Medical Debt limits its debt purchases to people who earn less than twice the poverty level, have out-of-pocket medical expenses that total more than 5 percent of their income or face bankruptcy.

St. Bede’s donated $15,000 to the nonprofit.

The church said it paid off all the available medical debt for all families who owed in New Mexico, as well as several counties in Arizona: Apache, Gila, Graham, Mohave, part of Maricopa and all Navajo counties.

Households that had their debt forgiven received a letter in the mail that said, "St. Bede’s Episcopal Church has paid off the medical debt you have been struggling with for the past number of years. No strings attached."

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars