Covenant Church in Carrollton, Texas, donated $100,000 to RIP Medical Debt, a charity that buys and forgives medical debt for needy patients, which was used to pay off $10.55 million in medical debt, according to NBC 5.
With the help of RIP Medical Debt, which buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar, the church's donation will eliminate nearly 5,000 families' medical debt. The money will be used to help families in four Texas cities where Covenant has churches.
RIP Medical Debt is the same organization comedian John Oliver partnered with when he formed a debt collection business in 2016 and bought then forgave nearly $15 million in medical debt. Earlier this year, KIRO-TV, a CBS-affiliated TV station in Seattle, partnered with RIP Medical Debt to pay off $1 million worth of medical debt.
Covenant Church's donation combined with a donation by NBC 5's parent company and checks sent in to the television station have resulted in more than $18 million in medical debt eliminated in North Texas in less than two months, according to the report.
More articles on healthcare finance:
Georgia hospital to close: 4 things to know
SSM Health's annual operating income drops 43%
IU Health CFO Jennifer Alvey: Health system finance chiefs must be 'thoughtful, collaborative and agile'