Tucson church raises money to pay off medical debt
A church doing right:
Tucson church raises money to pay off medical debt of about 1,700 local households
As an Easter gift to the community, St. Philip’s in the Hills will help pay off a mountain of outstanding medical debt for Pima County residents.
The Episcopal church’s $35,000 gift will be leveraged to buy up and retire as much as $3.5 million in delinquent doctors’ bills with the help of an enterprising national charity called RIP Medical Debt.
The Rev. Robert Hendrickson, rector of the church at Campbell Avenue and River Road, said the nation is in the midst of a medical debt crisis, with about half of Americans unable to afford even a $500 emergency and about 60% of personal bankruptcies caused by health-care expenses.
“Everyone knows someone who has this situation,” he said. “It’s not debt because you made a bad decision. You didn’t go the casino and blow all your money. You got sick.”
https://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-church-raises-money-to-pay-off-medical-debt-of-about-1-700-local-households/article_1538d527-cab1-5ffb-a58b-9e635baae078.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
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