CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - While health care debt burdens many people nationwide, several congregations in the Palmetto State have worked to lift the load for those in need.
Twenty-four churches across James Island, the Charleston peninsula and Georgetown recently collaborated to raise almost $20,000 to pay off $1.5 million worth of medical debt for South Carolina residents.
The James Island Ministerial Association surpassed its goal of $15,000, and the excess $4,000 will be used to pay off $400,000 worth of health-related costs owed by veterans, said Pastor Thomas Brown of James Island Baptist Church.
“It’s just thrilling to know someone will be freed of a financial burden,” Brown said.
Along with Brown, Pastor George Kugblenu of Emmanuel Baptist Church of James Island had read articles online about churches that had raised funds to help free people from medical costs.
The stories inspired them to present the idea to the ministerial alliance at a September meeting, where six churches each pledged $1,000 on the spot.
The donations were held by James Island Outreach. By the end of the year, the congregations raised the money to help those in need.
Kugblenu said he was surprised to learn the No. 1 cause for filing bankruptcy is medical debt, and noted 60 percent of the people who have medical debt have insurance.
“I felt very sternly that this is something the church can address,” he said. “When the body of Christ, the churches, come together, they can accomplish great things for the kingdom and for people. (Residents) were not expecting anything like that. It probably will be the answer to some people’s prayers.”
To celebrate the effort, the churches will host a worship service at 7 p.m. March 23 at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
The congregations worked with RIP Medical Debt, a New-York based organization, to raise the money.
Since its inception in 2014, RIP Medical Debt has relieved more than $450 million in medical debt for individuals across the country, impacting over 250,000 individuals, according to the organization.
The group works with third-party credit data providers to search through large debt portfolios to locate accounts meeting their criteria for relief, including persons who make less than two times the federal poverty level, have a debt that is five percent or more of their annual income, or have more debts than assets.
The model purchases debt for pennies on the dollar. Every $1 of money raised is used to wipe out $100 in debt.
Health care debt is a widespread problem for many across the nation, where 16 percent of Americans have medical debt in collections. The amount is more than 10 percent higher in South Carolina, where 27 percent of the population owes health care debt, according to research from the Urban Institute.
Other individuals and groups are looking to help those in South Carolina and North Carolina who owe health costs.
In Greenville, Tom Ervin and his wife, Kathryn Williams, recently donated $15,000 to RIP Medical Debt to erase $1.5 million in debt for about 1,000 people living in the Upstate.
Jordan Roberts, a health policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, said when he began a campaign in November to erase medical debt in the Carolinas, there was $2.8 million eligible debt in the two states.
His campaign, which has raised just under $31,000, should be able to eliminate all of that, he said.
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