Mt. Lebanon Church helps eliminate $7.2 million in medical debt
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon was able to eliminate nearly $7.2 million in medical debt across Pennsylvania.
The parish partnered with New York-based nonprofit RIP Medical Debt. The organization purchases debt in bundles for a cheaper price, and then sends out letters to inform people their debt has been erased.
St. Paul’s set a target of $15,000 in donations, and exceeded that by several thousands of dollars. An anonymous parishioner donated a $15,000 matching donation, bringing the total to $34,600.
“Our campaign with RIP Medical Debt flows out of our church’s commitment to helping to serve those in need in our community,” said the Rev. Noah Evans, rector of St. Paul’s. “We also hope that it is one step in creating a more just society with greater equity in healthcare.”
Based on RIP Medical Debt’s formula of every dollar raying off $100 of debt, St. Paul’s expected to raise just over $3 million. However, RIP Medical Debt recently informed them they were able to secure more debt for less money.
This money went to Pennsylvanians across the commonwealth save for two counties. There were 42 beneficiaries in Washington County who had $6,438 in debt forgiven. In Greene County, seven residents had more than $41,000 in debt wiped out.
More than $12,800 in debt was erased in Allegheny County for 79 people. The most money went to Beaver County residents, where 17 people are now free of about $657,000 in medical debt.
“The amount of medical debt that was purchased and forgiven, to see all those numbers, that was like opening a Christmas present. We could tell that some of the debt amounts were smaller, some were significant,” Evans said. “We know in the lives of those people, this made a significant difference.”
Last fall two episcopal parishes in Washington County also raised money for RIP Medical Debt. Between St. David’s in Peters Township and St. Thomas in Canonsburg, church goers raised more than $6,700 and were able to eliminate $1.68 million in medical debt.