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 famailies 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

RIP Medical Debt was featured on the October 30 edition of Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, a nationally syndicated current issues program.  O’Brien interviews the founders and outlines how the program works.  Watch it now online:

Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien – 10/30/22