Saratoga church raises money to erase $2.3 million in medical debt in 7 Bay Area counties

"Undue Medical Debt was started by two former debt collectors to buy portfolios of medical debt and pay it off through money raised through local fundraisers. In 2016 the nonprofit, under its former name RIP Medical Debt, partnered with John Oliver of Last Week Tonight to erase $15 million worth of medical debt. This really was about all of us coming together and (doing) some good out in our community to live out our lives of faith in a different way than we had before,"

"About 100 million Americans owe a total of $220 billion in medical debt, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report last October. Medical debt refers to unpaid medical bills or bills sent to collections as well as debt from using credit cards, payment plans, loans and other kinds of borrowing to pay for medical expenses. According to a May report by the UC Berkeley Labor Center, nearly four in 10 Californians reported having some kind of medical debt."

"Michelle Santoro, associate director of philanthropy with Undue Medical Debt, said the estimated median medical debt collection in California is about $1,964, and in Santa Clara County, it's $1,729. Medical debt disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic people and stems from lack of health insurance coverage. There have been cuts made at the federal level to coverage, specifically Medicaid, with the budget bill that was passed over the summer,"

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Saratoga raised enough money to erase $2.32 million in medical debt across the Bay Area after an eight-week fundraiser organized in partnership with Undue Medical Debt. Undue Medical Debt buys portfolios of medical debt from collectors and pays them off using funds raised through local campaigns; the nonprofit was founded by two former debt collectors and previously helped erase $15 million in 2016 with John Oliver. About 100 million Americans owe roughly $220 billion in medical debt. Nearly four in ten Californians report some medical debt, with median collections near $1,964 statewide and $1,729 in Santa Clara County. Medical debt disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic communities and often stems from lack of insurance and recent federal reductions to Medicaid funding.

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