Donations clear $13M in medical debt

ST. LOUIS — Thousands of St. Louis-area families were freed from a financial burden thanks to a charitable effort that is popular among churches and other groups trying to help the needy — eliminating medical debt.

Money raised at more than a dozen United Church of Christ congregations and a donation from the St. Louis-based Deaconess Foundation wiped away nearly $13 million in medical debt for 11,108 families in St. Louis city and county. United Church of Christ officials and civic leaders announced details Saturday. The church was sending letters this weekend to those whose debt was wiped out.

Rebecca Turner, a pastor in Maplewood, Missouri, said that for many families, medical debt is “often so enormous that there is no way to repay it. Very often they lose their homes, their vehicles, their wages are garnished, and once that happens, it’s nearly impossible to get out of poverty.

It is believed that more than 43 million Americans owe $75 billion in past-due medical debt. Hospitals and other health care organizations often write off bills deemed uncollectible, but they also sell the debt to collection agencies at a huge discount. The collection agencies then make money by pursuing payment from debtors.

The St. Louis-area congregations worked with RIP Medical Debt, a New York state-based nonprofit that buys medical debt and works with churches and charitable groups to pay it off.

Thirteen United Church of Christ congregations raised $65,000, and the Deaconess Foundation, a UCC ministry that seeks to improve the health of the St. Louis-area needy, contributed $40,000.

United Church of Christ performed a similar service in October in Chicago, using donations to clear $5.3 million in medical debt.