Southwest Virginia Debt Relief Campaign

Chapter 12 of Luke’s Gospel tells of a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years and though she had spent all she had on doctors, she had received no relief. As many hear this story, we wonder if anything has changed in the healthcare system in the past 2,000 years. Healthcare can be very expensive, and we do not always receive the relief for which we had hoped. Many in our region have to choose between healthcare and other basic necessities such as food or rent. To add insult to injury, surprise medical bills from unknown providers often arrive in our mailbox weeks or months after a procedure. In Southwestern Virginia, it seems as if the recent reduction in healthcare options has only increased this dilemma. 

According to a recent study by the United Way, nearly half of the families in Southwestern Virginia live in poverty or earn less than basic living expenses.  Medical debt creates a tremendous burden on these families making poverty impossible to escape and destroying a family’s credit rating, denying access to loans, an apartment, and even a job. People in medical debt are also less likely to seek medical care or fill prescriptions so, in the end, medical debt not only destroys well-being and economic security, it can kill. Recent studies have shown that out-of-pocket healthcare expenses are 40% higher in our region and insurance coverage has declined significantly in our region. Many of our neighbors have been impacted by crippling medical debt impacting finances, credit ratings, and often leading to bankruptcy. 

The Episcopal Churches of Southwestern Virginia are working along with other faith communities to raise $20,000 in donations in order to eliminate $3.5 million dollars of medical debt in our region. The counties particularly impacted by this debt include Washington, Smyth, Grayson, Bristol City, Scott, Russell, Wise, Lee, and Wythe among others. Much of this debt has not gone through debt collection yet, and its elimination would save the credit ratings and livelihoods of those assisted. 

Through your donations, RIP Medical Debt purchases bundled medical debt portfolios from the secondary debt market and hospital systems and then eliminates that debt for pennies on the dollar. On average, $1 is leveraged to abolish $100 in medical debt, and every donation made on this page will be spent directly on abolishing medical debt in the Appalachian region of Southwestern Virginia. We hope you will join us in this important work of healing and restoration. 

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