The United Church of Christ continues to assist people struggling to get out from under medical debt. The latest effort touched more than 6,500 families in Illinois. They recently have received letters learning that their medical debt has been abolished, courtesy of the churches of the Illinois Conference UCC.

Thirty three churches and 36 individuals funded the Conference’s primary buy of $41,707 — which wiped out almost $6 million in debt for households in 78 of Illinois’ 102 counties. The donations were sent through the National Setting to UCC partner, RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit which buys up debt on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar. 

The Conference fundraising campaign took place over the course of 10 weeks in late 2021, just before the UCC wrapped up a two-year collaborative effort that has eliminated more than $124 million in medical debt across the country. The UCC has teamed up with RIP more than a dozen times since 2019 and is the non-profit’s largest faith-based partner. Read more here.