Highlands Special Lenten and Easter Offering for Medical Debt Forgiveness

More than 137 million Americans struggle with medical debt. These costs, usually unexpected, are the top reason people file for bankruptcy.  Rising healthcare costs and endless bills are leaving families with nowhere to turn.  Medical costs cause a serious financial problem for 26% of Americans.  For families already under the stress of illness, medical bills can be devastating with the possibility of wage garnishment, eviction, foreclosure, bankruptcy and a sense of hopelessness.

Many hospitals across the country sell their past-due bills to debt collection agencies for pennies on the dollar. Those agencies often take a much more aggressive approach to pursuing payment. But collection agencies aren’t the only entities that can purchase medical debt. During Lent and Easter, we will partner with RIP Medical Debt (www.ripmedicaldebt.org) to purchase and forgive medical debt from those in greatest need in our community.

RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit organization dedicated to removing the burden of medical debt, uses sophisticated data analytics to pinpoint the debt portfolios of those most in need of relief – households that are below twice the federal poverty level, insolvent, or going through hardship.  RIP purchases unpaid and unpayable debt at significantly reduced rates.  This debt is forgiven, no strings attached.  For every $1 donated, an average of $100 in debilitating debt is forgiven.  Families are informed that their medical debt has been abolished and the debt resolution is reported to credit bureaus so that damaged credit can be repaired, renewing families’ access to opportunities and resources that will allow them to move forward.

We have set a goal to relieve one million dollars of medical debt in Birmingham by raising $10,000 through a special Lenten and Easter Offering.  We hope you will join us in this worthy cause this season.