A medical debt relief campaign started by a Danville business woman and joined by several Bloomington-Normal churches ended not unlike a Christian parable where a few loaves and fish fed 5,000 people: Around $27,000 raised in the campaign erased $3.5 million in medical debt across central Illinois.
Sunni Patterson, a Danville-based medical bill navigator, started working with nonprofit RIP Medical Debt earlier this summer. The goal was to raise $12,000 for the nonprofit, which takes donated funds and purchases outstanding debt from hospitals or medical groups that is still owed by a patient but isn't being actively pursued for collection.
Some Bloomington-Normal churches joined the fundraising effort and by the campaign's end, over $27,000 had been raised. Brian Hastings, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Bloomington, said when his church signed onto the effort, that initial $12,000 was the figure he hoped the campaign would make.
"I had no idea we would be able to raise that much. Everybody's church budgets are tight — sometimes that's a difficult thing," Hastings said. "I think people just sense... (a) need they could identify with and people responded. It was fantastic."
RIP Medical Debt brokers deals with hospitals or medical groups to purchase the debt at a reduced cost. Via this model, the nonprofit was able to turn just over $27,000 raised into $3.5 million in forgiven medical debt.
That $3.5 million was distributed among 4,450 people in 72 counties, according to a fulfillment report from RIP Medical Debt.
Highlights from that report show debt was eliminated among:
- 12 people in McLean County, totaling $7,400
- 40 people in Logan County, totaling $57,341
- 12 people in Peoria County, totaling $13,567
- 172 people in Tazewell County, totaling $143,197
- 277 people in Iroquois County, totaling $163,215
Both Hastings and Patterson said they don't know if or when they'll do a campaign like this again, since there are debt thresholds that need to be met for RIP Medical Debt to be involved.
"It might be a little early to say how we're going to do this every year," Hastings aid. "I hope we're able to build on it in some way and I hope whether or not we do medical debt relief again next summer ... it opens some doors into awareness of just how much debt locks people in."
Patterson said she hopes that people "keep the conversation going."
"At this point it is an open-ended question. We had not looked at re-engaging to start another campaign," Patterson said. "We are actively letting people know, 'Hey, if you want to start a campaign in your area, or you want to continue this campaign, reach out to RIP (Medical Debt) because the numbers fluctuate and constantly change with how much debt they have access to," Patterson said.
Churches that participated in the fundraiser included Centennial Christian Church, Christ the King Episcopal Church, First Baptist Church of Bloomington, First Christian Church, Mennonite Church of Normal, Moses Montefiore Temple, New Covenant Community and Our Savior Lutheran Church.
