Helping those in need by relieving medical debt
On Sunday, May 1st, our congregation launched a campaign to help alleviate medical debt in Broward County.
The parish of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Martin is partnering with RIPMedicalDebt, a nonprofit organization that buys portfolios of medical debt at a fraction of the cost.
Each day 79,000,000 Americans:
- Choose between paying their medical bills and basic needs like food and shelter.
- 66% of ALL U.S. bankruptcies are tied to medical debt.
- 25% of ALL U.S. credit card debt is medical debt.
- To avoid high costs, one in two Americans don’t go to the doctor when they are sick.
The Problem
In the past forty years, medical costs have doubled, insurance copays and deductibles have spiked, and bankruptcy rates have quadrupled, creating an avalanche of destructive medical debt. More than 60% of bankruptcies in the U.S. have medical debt as the root cause.
Florida and Broward County
The problem is especially dire in Florida. Not only does Florida have some of the highest health care costs in the country, but it also has one of the highest uninsured rates. In Southeast Florida, medical debt tops the list of reasons that people end up living in their cars or on the street.
How You Can Help
Donate! We invite you to join with us in helping us to alleviate medical debt from people in our local community. The parish of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Martin will match up to $10,000 of donations to relieve medical debt in Broward County.
How Much Debt Your Donation Abolishes
Our partnership with RIPMedicalDebt allows us to buy debt in bundled portfolios. Basically, we are able to relieve millions of dollars of medical debt at a fraction of the original cost of the debt.
Whatever you donate has 100x the impact. A $1 donation forgives $100 in medical debt. If we reach our goal of $10,000 in donations along with our match of $10,000 we will relieve $2 million dollars of medical debt.
How can I donate?
You can give online by following the link below (choose Medical Debt in Fund selection box) or you can mail a donation to us at:
St. MM&M
PO Box 771145
Coral Springs, FL 33077-1145