Iowa Church Forgives $5 Million Worth Of Medical Debt For Christmas

This Des Moines church looked deep into its collective heart this holiday season and decided to help people the best way that they knew how.

Reverend Minna Bothwell of Capitol Hill Lutheran Church spoke with the Des Moines Register about their landmark decision. Members of their congregation suggested that they pay off the medical debts of Iowans during the holiday season this past year.

RIP Medical Debt is a nonprofit organization that works tirelessly to help those who have accrued serious amounts of medical debt. Their mission is a very simple one to understand. They work to make sure that medical debts are abolished by purchasing current debts at a deep discount from various collection agencies.

“We asked them how much money it would take to forgive all the medical debt in Polk County,” said Bothwell in the interview. “They responded, ‘With what you have, you could forgive debt in all of Iowa.’”

Bothwell took to Facebook and shared a touching video about the interaction. She and the church decided to follow the advice that they were given and changed the lives of multitudes of Iowans in one fell swoop. These are the stories that we live for and we love to see it!

According to her, Capitol Hill Lutheran Church “purchased all of Iowa’s medical debt that RIP had access to, a total of $5 million. And we are going to forgive every cent of it.” This decision could not have come at a better time as it came at the end of a terrible year for a lot of local residents.

“2020 has been a rough year for everyone,” Bothwell said during her interview with the Register. “Hopefully, when people receive this news, they start the year off better with a significant weight off their shoulders.”

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=841393699957055