Los Angeles Church To Pay $5.3 Million In Medical Debt For Over 5,000 Low-Income Families

A church in Los Angeles is doing overtime in its service to humanity part with a very generous gift to those that need it the most this holiday season. The Christian Assembly Church, had their co-lead pastor Tom Hughes, announcing in a video that the church is ready to pay off a whopping $5.3 million worth of medical debt of low-income individuals and families in over 25 neighborhoods. 

“Because of the generosity of Christian Assembly Church, we are able to give a Christmas gift to the people of Los Angeles, no strings attached,” Hughes said. He added that "medical debt is a crushing weight". The Christian Assembly Church mapped out neighborhoods where they have 15 or more households who attend the church, taking the total up to 28. 

“We’ve worked with the nonprofit organization, RIP Medical Debt,” he said. “We’ve learned that in these 28 neighborhoods, there is $5.3 million worth of outstanding medical debt that is owed by people who earn less than twice the federal poverty line.”

ABC7 reported that the Christian Assembly Church had collected about $50,000 in the past year. Though the church leaders were initially unsure of what to do with it, they ultimately decided to use those funds towards the Christmas gift this year. One member of the Church, Blythe Hill, told the outlet that he "would love to be a fly on the wall" when someone receives the letter saying that their trifling medical debt has been paid off in full. “God is for you and we are excited to share this gift of generosity because of the generosity of our God,” Hughes said.

Now, thanks to the church's generous action, each person will receive a letter in the mail informing them that their medical debt has been completely covered. The Christian Assembly Church and RIP Medical Debt will also work with the credit unions to repair the credit damage from people's medical debt. “As they recover from their illness, it will help them get back on their feet and avoid homelessness,” Hughes said, noting that the gesture will impact over 5,000 households in the area.

The church said that: Each person will receive a letter letting them know their medical debt has been cleared by an act of generosity from the Christian Assembly Church. Plus, RIP medical debt will then work with the credit unions to repair the credit damage from the medical debt thereby lifting the credit score of each person. As they recover from their illness, the improved score will make it easier for them to get a job, get an apartment, and help them get back on their feet. And avoid homelessness.

Medical debt is an especially notable phenomenon in the United States. A recent survey from The Commonwealth Fund finds that many people are struggling to pay their medical bills and have accumulated medical debt over time. In fact, 41 percent of working-age Americans—or 72 million people—have medical bill problems or are paying off medical debt, up from 34 percent in 2005. In the United States, one of the largest concerns of medical debt stems from the high medical costs present.