Eric Adams promises to erase medical debt for 500,000 New Yorkers as part of $2 billion plan



New York City Mayor Eric Adams promised that he would eliminate more than $2 billion of medical debt on behalf of upward of 500,000 residents.

Tackling what the mayor's office called the top cause of personal bankruptcy, Mayor Adams announced that the city would work with a nonprofit to buy medical debt in bulk from both hospitals and debt collectors.

The city announced it would spend $18 million over three years in a partnership with a group called RIP Medical Debt, ABC News reported.

"For middle- and working-class New Yorkers, medical bills can be financially devastating," Adams said in his announcement. "Working-class families often have to choose between paying their medical bills or some of the basic essentials that they need to go through life."

The group has reportedly bought debt in bulk for pennies on the dollar in the past and has targeted debt belonging to those with low income. The decision-making process includes finding those whose medical bills are the equivalent of at least 5% of their annual household income, or have an income that is four times under the federal poverty line.

In New York City, that number would be $31,200 for a family of four, according to the New York Times.

The program will have no application process, and those who have their debt erased would simply receive a letter by mail. The $2 billion in relief would equate to $4,000 per person if 500,000 residents benefited from the program.

The nonprofit's website claimed it has eliminated over $10.4 billion in debt from over seven million families and individuals. Through a program conducted with Cook County, Illinois, for example, the nonprofit reportedly eliminated over $280 million of debt for more than 158,000 residents — an average of just over $1,770 per person.

According to a 2020 report from Community Service Society, New York state had filed over 40,000 lawsuits against patients for outstanding debts between 2015-2020.

The New York Times reported that the state's largest hospital system, Northwell Health, had also sued patients for unpaid debts during COVID lockdowns. The hospital system later rescinded all legal claims filed in 2020. In December 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul also signed legislation that prevented health care organizations from reporting medical debt to credit agencies.

"That $2 billion trickles down to those households, who are not going to fall into our safety net,” Mayor Adams added. "They’re not going to fall into our homeless system."

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North Carolina church buys up then burns thousands of struggling families' medical debts



A church in North Carolina has again unburdened thousands of families who were struggling with medical debt, setting their obligations ablaze.

Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem bought up and canceled nearly $3.3 million in medical debt belonging to 3,355 families.

According to the Dispatch, this is the second year that members of the church have taken part in the Debt Jubilee Project, which assumes past-due medical bills of residents in the area. Through the project, congregants previously purchased $1.65 million of debt, liberating 1,356 people in Forsyth and Davidson Counties.

When an individual fails to pay down an outstanding medical bill, the medical company that is owed will frequently hire a debt collection agency. When the agency similarly fails in its collection efforts, the debt is sometimes sold to a third-party collection agency for pennies on the dollar to help recoup the loss.

The Dispatch indicated that these third-party agencies have the legal right to either collect or forgive the debts. In partnership with RIP Medical Debt in New York, the Debt Jubilee Project exercised its right to do the latter.

Rev. John Jackman, the pastor of the church, told the Dispatch, "Most of these families were making a go of it until someone has to go into the hospital for a few days or to the doctor for a serious [medical condition]. … We can’t fix the system, so this is something we can do."

Jackman told WXII-TV that the Jubilee Project with RIP Medical Debt "raised $15,000 and with that, we were able to go in and bid and buy $3,295,863.64 in medical debt in Davidson County."

On March 26, the church held a symbolic debt-burning ceremony.

"Some of the poorer folks that we deal with get a medical bill of $1,000 or $3,000. It might as well be $10 million; they just can't deal with it," Jackman said. "For them to get the letter that says that’s forgiven, I think, is such a relief."

"You got to eat, and you got to take care of your children. ... You've got to do what you have to do just to live," Mary Bertstone, a member of the congregation, told WXII-TV. "And that[medical debt] is never going to rise to the top and it's always going to make you feel bad."

\u201cThe members of Trinity Moravian Church in North Carolina purchased nearly $3.3 million of local residents\u2019 medical debt for just $15,048.\n\nThen, they held a debt jubilee ceremony and burned up the debt, canceling it all.\u201d
— More Perfect Union (@More Perfect Union) 1681240402

Trinity Moravian Church and its members will reportedly continue burning debts, one county at a time. According to the Debt Jubilee Project, it will seek to help families in Yadkin, Surry, Stokes, and Rockingham Counties next.

“It feels good,” Jackman said. “Even if we don’t know them personally, to know that we have helped families by decreasing their burden, it’s a good feeling. That’s how God operates.”

The informal motto of the Moravian Church is reportedly "in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love."

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Omaha church partners with nonprofit and cancels $7.2 million of medical debt for strangers



A Nebraska church is serving its community and helping those in need by helping to eliminate millions of dollars in medical expenses for people overwhelmed by debt.

King of Kings Church in Omaha has partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based nonprofit organization, to buy up medical debt and then forgive it.

"They are just doing a terrific ministry," King of Kings Church lead pastor Greg Griffith told WOWT-TV.

RIP Medical Debt was founded in 2014 by former debt collections executives Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton. Their organization uses donations to purchase medical debt from hospitals and doctors practices before it is sold to collections firms and then forgives that debt, freeing people in need from the enormous burden of their medical expenses.

When debt is sold to collections, it is sold at a discount, for a fraction of the total value of the debt. This allows RIP Medical Debt to purchase the rights to collect medical debt cheaply and then cancel that debt. There's no need to raise millions of dollars to cancel millions of dollars of debt. For every $100 donation, RIP Medical Debt says they can forgive $10,000 of medical debt.

When Pastor Griffith learned that churches have partnered with RIP Medical Debt to forgive debts across the country, he wanted his King of Kings Church to be a part of that effort. The coronavirus pandemic has prevented churches nationwide from meeting and serving their communities in the way they are used to, but Griffith said RIP Medical Debt gave his church an ability to make a difference in people's lives in a way that was relevant to the times.

"Health care is an issue. Medical debt is an issue and people are going to the hospital totally unexpectedly because of this global pandemic and so we felt this would be a great way to say, 'Let us help you,'" he said.

King of Kings Church made a $35,000 donation that RIP Medical Debt turned around to buy up the medical debt of 2,700 people, eliminating $7.2 million worth of debt in Nebraska, Iowa, and part of Arizona.

Pastor Griffith hopes other churches take advantage of the opportunity provided by RIP Medical Debt and similar organizations to serve people in need across the United States.

"We could cancel all medical debt, even student loan debt," he said. "I hope and pray other churches take a look at this model and consider it."