A Successful Campaign to Relieve Medical Debt
On Sunday, May 1, 2022, The Episcopal Church of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Martin launched a campaign to alleviate medical debt in Broward County, Florida. Studies have shown that each day 79,000,000 Americans choose have to make the difficult choice of paying their medical bills or basic needs like food and shelter. In the United States, 66% of all bankruptcies are tied to medical debt. 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.
Sts. MM&M partnered with RIPMedicalDebt to purchase medical debt in Broward County, Florida for the purpose of relieving that debt through special donations and a donation from the church's outreach budget. On August 17th, RIPMedicalDebt completed the purchase of debt with the money raised given by Sts. MM&M. Through the generosity of our faith community we relieved $4,172,620 worth of medical debt, directly assisting over 4000 families in Broward County.
In the next two or three weeks, each of the families whose debt has been relieved will receive a letter stating that St. MM&M has bought and relived their debt.