Update: We’ve Surpassed Our $14,000 Goal!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of individuals and organizations within our community, we are thrilled to announce that we have exceeded our original goal of raising $14,000 to address medical debt in our area. By partnering with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, this $14,000 will eliminate over $3 million of local medical debt across Mason, Llano, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, McCulloch, and San Saba counties. This extraordinary generosity will bring both financial and emotional relief to families, lifting the burden of medical debt that has weighed heavily on them for far too long. We cannot thank you enough!

Let’s Continue to Make a Difference!

Rather than ending our campaign early, we have chosen to keep our website open until the original completion date of November 16, 2024. Any donations beyond our already-met $14,000 goal will expand the impact of this campaign. Specifically, additional funds will be directed towards reducing medical debt in Menard, Sutton, Bandera, Blanco, and Kendall counties. Our revised campaign goal of $18,900, now shown on our website, reflects the inclusion of these counties and will help eliminate approximately $4.9M in medical debt across the combined 12 counties. Every dollar contributed will continue to make a transformative difference for our Hill Country neighbors. Your donation—whether large or small—will change lives by erasing medical debt for these families.

(Please see bottom of this campaign summary for additional information about the work of Undue Medical Debt,  the nature of the debt we seek to eliminate and the medical debt that has been identified in our area.) 

According to Undue Medical Debt, “even after medical insurance payouts, there can be unaffordable monthly medical bill payments” that families in the Hill Country must make, threatening their financial stability. “Texans who normally would never dream of ignoring a bill are forced to choose between providing for their family and carving deep into their utility and food budget to pay off a debt incurred through no fault of their own.” Many families face the difficult choice between buying needed medications or buying food for their children.

Additionally, individuals burdened by unaffordable medical bills are more likely to delay or skip needed care to avoid incurring further debt. Join St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in alleviating the burden of medical debt in our community through the “Skye’s the Limit” campaign. Together, we can make a significant impact on the lives of our neighbors and families. It starts with $1—your donation can bring relief!

Notes:

About Undue Medical Debt: Undue Medical Debt invites us to raise donations to purchase bundled medical debt portfolios from hospitals and the secondary debt market. Undue specifically targets debt incurred by individuals facing financial hardship and then abolishes it. Every donation made through this page will go directly toward abolishing medical debt in seven counties in Central Texas. With your contribution, we can erase over $3 million of medical debt. When recipients of debt relief open the yellow envelope from Undue Medical Debt, they learn that their debt has been purchased by a third party and erased with no strings attached. They owe nothing on the debt and face no tax penalty.

This means money stays within the community rather than going to out-of-state debt collectors. On average, just $16 can abolish the medical debt of an entire family, freeing them to invest in a home, education, or retirement.

Identified Medical Debt – The medical debt our campaign addresses comes from bundled debt across many individuals. It does not cover new medical debts or any specific individual’s debt, and there is no application process for individual cases. By purchasing bundles of older medical debt, we stop debt collectors from pursuing those included in these debt portfolios—people who can least afford to pay this debt.