Indiana Church Eliminates $7.8 Million in Medical Debt for 6,000 Families

An Indiana church took on a $7.8 million burden to eliminate the medical debt for 6,000 families in ten different communities.

Northview Church in Carmel, Indiana, said they were able to pay off $7.8 million in medical bills for 6,000 families in ten communities by partnering with RIP Medical Debt, which purchases debt for pennies on the dollar, WTHR reported.

RIP Medical Debt CEO Craig Antico told CNN in June that the process works like this: when people do not pay off their medical bills, the bills to collections agencies, and the debt grows. RIP Medical Debt comes in when they are able to buy the debt at a lower price from hospitals, doctors, and investors.

The company targets families that are most in need, people whose income makes up twice the federal poverty level or carry debt that makes up five percent or more of their final income. Those who benefit from the program receive letters saying their debt has been paid off with no strings attached, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Steve Poe, senior pastor of Northview Church, decided to get in on the partnership by expanding its existing Dollar Club, where each congregant is asked to pay one dollar to the church, from $3 to $4.

Initially, the church wanted to pay off $2 million in medical debt using $20,000 they raised, but the idea became so popular other churches got involved in the cause.

Another church in northern Texas recently partnered with RIP Medical Debt in September to pay off $2.6 million in medical debt to those in need, and a church in Michigan announced in July that it partnered with the organization to help 1,899 families get out of debt.