DeWitt church to pay off $3.8 million in medical debt for 3,800 people

DEWITT – A DeWitt church plans to pay off $3.8 million in medical debt for people in the Lansing area.

Northpointe Community Church worked with a New York-based nonprofit to cover medical-debt expenses for more than 3,800 families in Clinton County, Laingsburg, Grand Ledge and the 48906 zip code, which includes DeWitt Township and part of north Lansing. The church donated the money as a "no strings attached gift."

“So many families have experienced devastating medical expenses and wake up each day dreading the demands of the collection agency,” Northpointe Pastor Rick Ruble said in a press release. “They struggle to pay their bills and an accident or emergency surgery creates double the destruction.

“Recovering physically is difficult but recovering from the resulting financial burden can be impossible,” Ruble said.

People will get a letter saying their debt was paid for by the church in early December.

The church worked with RIP Medical Debt, which says it has paid for almost $920 million in medical debt since it was founded in 2014.

Two former financial executives founded the organization and buy portfolios of unpaid or unpayable medical debt, RIP Medical Debt said in the release. The group purchases the debt portfolios for a fraction of the amount and said $1 million in debt can be covered with as little as $10,000.

People who qualify for debt forgiveness through RIP Medical Debt’s program earn less than two times the federal poverty level, are in financial hardship, or face financial insolvency, according to the organization.

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Contact reporter Craig Lyons at 517-377-1047 or calyons@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @craigalyons.