We want to relieve crippling medical debt in North Carolina!!
Over half the personal bankruptcies in the US are caused by medical debt.1 An unexpected medical problem, a short stay in the ICU, an accident, can all result in massive medical bills – even after insurance or Medicare. More than 20% of North Carolina residents have significant unpaid medical bills, making NC the #6 worst state in the nation for medical debt.2 For families that work paycheck to paycheck, a significant medical bill can send them into poverty.
Trinity Moravian Church, which for over a century has actively ministered to the needy of our area, has set out on a campaign to forgive what medical debt in Forsyth County and the surrounding area that we can. Working with Undue Medical Debt (formerly known as RIP Medical Debt), a highly-rated nonprofit that works to forgive medical debt, we hope to raise $15,000 to purchase — and forgive – over $1,500,000 of medical debt in central North Carolina.
The targets for this campaign are:
Forsyth County, Guilford County, and Davie County.
Further — we have a challenge goal of $30,000, which would allow us to entirely wipe out the currently available debts in these counties.
When medical debts go unpaid for a period of time, they are often sold off at a steep discount to collection agencies, which then have the right to continue collecting the entire debt. It is at that stage that Undue Medical Debt is able to step in and buy the debt for literally a penny on the dollar.
Imagine a struggling family receiving a completely unexpected letter saying that their crippling medical debt has been forgiven. We can bring that kind of grace to many families in our area through this campaign – a practical demonstration of the grace that God has given each of us!
The name of the campaign comes from Leviticus 25, which commanded that every fiftieth year (seven round of seven year periods) a special Day of Atonement would be held, all debts would be forgiven, and slaves freed. We want to proclaim Jubilee for the people in Forsyth County who are enslaved by medical debt.
This NINTH campaign will start on July 15, 2026 and extend through August 31. Sometime in September, we plan to announce the exact results of this campaign and the expected forgiveness of approximately one and a half a million dollars in medical debt owed by residents of central North Carolina. Any overage will be used to forgive debts in other parts of the state. Every dollar you donate will be used directly to purchase and forgive someone’s medical debt.
YOU can make a huge difference in someone’s life right now. 100% of your donation will go directly to purchase medical debt – and every dollar you donate will literally buy $100 of debt.
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- David U. Himmelstein, et al. “Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: Results of a National Study,” Page 741. Elsevier Inc, 2009.
- Lending Tree report, June 27, 2022
https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/medical-debt-survey/
Symbolic “burning of the debts” at Trinity Moravian Church.
