Hundreds of Taos families benefit from medical debt relief

Donations poured in from across political spectrum

More than 620 Taos County families received an early Christmas gift – their medical debt at Holy Cross Medical Center was paid through the generosity of donors and the hospital’s willingness to forgive some of the cost.

A coalition of 11 local faith communities worked together to raise more than $44,000. Working with Holy Cross Medical Center, the funds canceled more than $1.47 million in medical debt.

“People have a lot of shame they feel around having debt of any kind,” said the Rev. Pamela Shepherd of Taos United Community Church, one of the founders of the effort along with Bill Patten, CEO of Holy Cross. “What I hear is their immense relief of having that burden lifted.”

The vast majority of medical debt is owed not because people don’t want to pay it, but because they can’t afford to, Shepherd said.

Families received word of the medical debt relief through a letter, each one hand-stuffed into envelopes by Rev. Mike Olsen, retired pastor of St. James Episcopal Church, and spouse Sandy Olsen and other volunteers.

This was the third year of the medical debt relief program. It all started in 2018 when Shepherd read a New York Times article in 2018 about a Texas megachurch that had purchased medical debt of members. Shepherd thought the idea would work in Taos and called CEO Patten, according to a press release from the faith coalition. He had read the same article and agreed it was a project worth trying.

Hospitals sell debt that is labeled “uncollectable” to collection agencies at a price of three to five cents per dollar of debt, according to Patten. With support from Patten and the Holy Cross board, the hospital sold the medical debt to donors at three cents per dollar. That allows each donated dollar to purchase more medical debt.

“I think this is quite unusual,” Patten said in an email. “Of the five hospitals I have had the privilege to lead, Holy

Cross is the only one that has such a program.”

Patten approached members of his church in 2018, Taos Bilingual Seventhday Adventist, and Shepherd went to her congregation, according to background information on the program. Rev. Virginia Bairby also shared the idea with First Presbyterian Church of Taos. The three congregations raised enough funds in the first round in 2018 to cancel the medical debt of 80 families.

The program has continued to grow, with more faith communities joining, more people donating and more families helped. “A couple in Pagosa Springs who heard about this from a friend who saw the earlier Taos News article sent a check for $5,000,” said Jerry Kennell, one of many volunteers who help with the effort.

In a time when people’s politics seem to drive them apart, donations have come in from across the left to right spectrum. “I think because at our core I think we know we are supposed to help our neighbor,” Shepherd said.

This year, each household that benefited from the program owed between $1,000 and $8,000 in medical bills to the hospital. Households with debt in that range then were randomly chosen using a computer algorithm set up by Holy Cross Chief Financial Officer Steve Rozenboom. “That seemed to them a fair way to do the selection, since all debt could not be met,” Shepherd said.

According to Rozenboom, uncollectable debt in the local service area was more than $4.45 million in 2020 alone.

Shepherd said those who benefitted from the medical debt relief this year included a young man in college who was faced with giving up school and getting a second job to cover an unexpected medical bill for an injury, until he received the letter that stated his bill was paid. Many others were from elderly residents in their 80s and 90s who had ended up in the hospital.

“What are they going to do, get a job?” Shepherd asked. “Almost everyone we heard from who had their debt paid had health insurance, but their debt was for the amount insurance didn’t cover. If you live on Social Security, that is not enough to pay even a $500 bill.”

Patten said he’s received a few calls from grateful patients who received notice that their debt was forgiven. “To a person they expressed surprise and gratitude that someone would be looking out for their best interest. They told me that this was the best Christmas gift they have ever received.”

Bette Myerson, who advocated for the debt relief project to B’nai Shalom Havurah and Unitarian Congregation of Taos, said in a statement, “Medical debt causes bankruptcy. Until this country decides to do the right thing and make medical care affordable and available to all, we have to do something to help those who do not have coverage or have to pay deductibles that they cannot afford.”

Shepherd agrees. “These people are victims of a broken health care system.” she said. “Our system is based on who can profit off someone else’s disaster and misery. That doesn’t create healthy, strong societies.”