Medical Debt

In an investigative report, NC Health News‘ Michelle Crouch reports that both the major hospital systems in central NC have decided to stop selling medical debt, even to charitable organizations such as RIP Medical Debt, the debt-forgiveness system that Debt Jubilee Project works with.  At this point, Debt Jubilee and related group have purchased and forgiven all the available medical debt in Forsyth and surrounding counties; until Novant and Atrium agree to release more debt, we can’t really do more in our own area!  Read more:

https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2023/12/11/charlotte-hospitals-no-charity-effort-to-erase-medical-debt/

A group of young Philadelphians – who describe themselves as “mostly queer, gutter-pagans in their 30’s” were inspired by our Debt Jubilee Project, and undertook a project themselves.  Working with RIP Medical Debt, they rasied enough cash to buy $1.6 million in medical debt owed by poorer Philly residents.  To celebrate, they burned a giant “medical billing statement” on a pier next to the Delaware River.

Link to the Inquirer article (PAYWALL):

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/rip-medical-debt-forgiveness-philadelphia-20230828.html

For non-subscribers, we have posted a reduced resolution scan below:

In recent report from Duke, University, it was reported that non-profit hospitals were responsible for 90% of the 5,900 suits filed against patients  -and Atrium Health (the system Baptist Hospital is part of) leads the state in lawsuits over medical debt.

According to the study, 5,922 medical-debt lawsuits were filed between January 2017 and June 2022 involving N.C. hospitals. Nonprofit hospitals were responsible for 90.6% of those lawsuits.

Atrium was determined to have filed 2,487 of those lawsuits.

Non-profit hospital systems are required to provide a certain amount of charity care to maintain their status.  Many NC hospitals fail to meet this minimum standard (see report below) yet are among those suing poor patients.

Read the Winston-Salem Journal article by Richard Craver:

Atrium Health leads state in lawsuits over medical debt. Non-profit hospitals were responsible for 90% of the 5,900 suits filed

Read the study from Duke University:

Hospital Lawsuits

Read the study about charity care among non-profit hospitals in NC:

NC Hospitals: Charity Case Report

Many people are excited about our efforts to abolish medical debt in our area.  But did you know that the Veterans Administration does not allow veterans’ debts to be discharged?  RIP Medical Debt co-founder Jerry Ashton (a Navy veteran himself) is on a campaign to change that – and he’s using our Jubilee Project as an example!

Read more:

NORTH CAROLINA CHURCH DEBT JUBILEE RETIRES MILLIONS IN MEDICAL DEBT — CAN VETERANS EVERYWHERE BE NEXT?

Ashton has started a new organization, Veteran Mission Possible, to work on convincing the Veteran’s Administration to change their policies and allow our veterans to discharge their crushing medical debt when it is beyond their means.  Often the debt is beyond their means because of ongoing problems caused by their faithful service to the country!  If there is a debt that it is owed, it is a debt of a thankful nation to those who served faithfully.

#EndVetMedDebt

We are excited to announce that the Moravian Church Board of World Mission, the Moravian Ministries Foundation, the Interprovincial Board of Communication, and the Commission on Congregational Development (Southern Province) have partnered with Debt Jubilee Project for an international campaign to relieve medical debt in the US and Honduras.  As was announced this week at the Synod of the Northern Province, this campaign (which is separate from our local NC campaign) seeks to raise $50,000 in 50 days.  25% of the total will be used to forgive medical debts at the Clínica Evangélica Morava in Ahuas, Honduras; the other 75% will be used to forgive medical debts in areas of the US where the Moravian Church has a congregation or other presence.

To donate to this campaign, go to www.moravian.org/debtjubilee/

Here is the official news release:

The Debt Jubilee Project: For the Healing of the World is a collaborative effort of the Board of World Mission, the Moravian Commission on Congregational Development, the Moravian Ministries Foundation in America, and the Interprovincial Board of Communication. Based on our biblical call to care for the sick and our belief that healthcare is a fundamental human right, this project will work to offer grace and hope through the forgiveness of medical debt. Because our call is to our siblings in Christ here in North America and throughout the world, this project will forgive medical debt in the United States as well as at the Moravian medical ministry of the Clínica Evangélica Morava in Ahuas, Honduras.

Through this effort, we hope to build on the energy and witness of the recent work of Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, which raised about $15,000 earlier this year to forgive over $3,000,000 in medical debt. The Debt Jubilee Project; For the Healing of the World aims to provide an opportunity for more Moravians to join in this freeing and life-changing initiative. Our goal is to raise $50,000 in 50 days with the project concluding on August 13th.

75% of your gift will support the elimination of medical debt in the U.S. through a partnership with RIP Medical Debt, an organization that purchases medical debt for pennies on the dollar and erases that debt, which would otherwise have been sold to for-profit debt collectors. RIP Medical Debt only abolishes debt for those earning less than 4x the federal poverty level and/or hold debts of 5% or more of their annual income. The Debt Jubilee Project: For the Healing of the World will specifically forgive debts for those living in U.S. counties with a Moravian presence (through a congregation or ministry). The individuals and families who owe the medical debt purchased will receive a letter informing them that their debt is forgiven. Jubilee!

25% of your gift will buy debt owed by patients of the Clínica Evangélica Morava, a Moravian medical ministry in Ahuas, Honduras, that has been serving the remote area of La Mosquitia for over 75 years. Medical debt held in this area is a burden on the indebted patients, the clinic, and the community as a whole. The individuals and families who owe the medical debt purchased will receive notice informing them that their debt is forgiven. Jubilee!
Learn more and donate at www.moravian.org/debtjubilee/.

May 12, 2023 – NPR reports that there is a high amount of medical debt in collection in the counties that the CDC identifies as “the Diabetes Belt.”  In many counties, 1 in 5 families have unpayable medical debt in collection.

Read or Listen to the Story:

Many in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ plagued with medical debt

On Sunday, March 26, we will symbolically burn a list of $3.3 million in medical debts for families in Davidson, Davie, and Yadkin counties.  The Debt Jubilee Project has bid and purchased the medical debts of 3,355 area families so that we could forgive the debt.

During the 11 am service, we will have a ceremony where we burn the listings of the purchased debts, which have already been wiped clean.  Families have received official letters in the mail indicating that their owed medical debt has been forgiven, and can no longer be collected.  The service is open to all, as we celebrate this radical act of God’s Jubilee.

The idea is based on the Biblical Year of Jubilee, described in Leviticus 25, where all debts are forgiven and slaves are freed.  We believe that our society needs Jubilee, and we are doing what we can to make it happen.

11:00 am
March 26, 2023
Trinity Moravian Church
220 East Sprague Street
Winston-Salem NC 27127

WXII featured our Davidson county project where we were able to purchase and forgive $3.3 million in medical debt, helping more than 3,000 local families.  Kara Peters did a great job on the story:

WXII Coverage of Debt Jubilee Project