First Presbyterian Church of Kirksville, Missouri Campaign

First Presbyterian Church of Kirksville, Missouri is committed to Christ’s calling to neighborliness through reaching out with love, compassion, and justice. Because this is our commitment, we are announcing a new fundraising effort in partnership with RIP Medical Debt to cancel medical debt across Missouri. 

Medical debt is an epidemic across our country:

• 66% of bankruptcies in the United States are tied to medical debt. 
• 25% of US credit card debt is medical debt. 
• Half of Americans avoid going to the doctor because of high costs. 
• Every day, more that 79,000 Americans choose between paying their medical bills and basic needs like food and shelter. 

More than simply statistics, these are real people, with real families, facing an uncertain future because of their debt. After my son was born, he required a short stay in the NICU and then surgery a couple of months later. It was a really scary time for my wife and me. The fear was only compounded by the fact that we are afraid of how much medical debt we would accrue. Fortunately, our insurance paid for most of the debt. There are so many people in our situation who are not as privileged. 

First Presbyterian is partnering with RIP Medical Debt, specifically because RIP is working to alleviate the debt of those who are most impacted by this crisis. RIP abolishes debt for individuals who: 

• Earn less than 2x the federal poverty level. 
• Debts are 5% or more of their annual income. 
• Facing insolvency (debts are greater than their assets). 

RIP Medical Debt only purchases portfolios to forgive debt and never collect on it. 

What we are asking all of you to do is to donate to help forgive the debts of others who a suffering most from the medical debt crisis. This is what is really amazing: Every $1 that is donated cancels $100 dollars of medical debt. Your donation has 100x the impact. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to forgive medical debts across Missouri so we can cancel $1 million in medical debt for our most vulnerable neighbors across Missouri. 

First Presbyterian has committed to matching up to $2,500 donated from our congregation out of our mission budget. Join us as we fulfill Christ’s calling to our neighbor by forgiving medical debt for the most vulnerable across Missouri.

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RIP Medical Debt’s Solution: RIP Medical Debt uses donations to purchase bundled medical debt portfolios that have gone through collection agencies for months or years. Using third-party credit data providers, it targets debt incurred by people facing financial hardship, and then forgives it. On average, $1 is leveraged to abolish $100 in medical debt.

Please see the full RIP FAQ below and visit www.ripmedicaldebt.org for more information. 

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Want to make a donation by cash or check?

Please mail to to any cash or check (payable to "RIP Medical Debt") to the address below and make sure to notate on the memo line or letter that your gift is designated to "First Presbyterian Church's Missouri Campaign."

RIP Medical Debt  / 80 Theodore Fremd Ave. Rye, NY 10580 

Who is RIP Medical Debt? RIP Medical Debt (RIP) is a national 501c3 nonprofit organization with a mission to empower donors to forgive the billions of dollars in oppressive medical debt at pennies on the dollar. RIP locates, buys, and abolishes destructive medical debt for individuals, veterans, and families. Since inception in 2014, RIP has relieved more than $600 million in medical debt for individuals across the U.S., impacting over 250,000 individuals.

How Does RIP Medical Debt Work? RIP, working with third-party credit data providers, searches through large debt portfolios to locate accounts meeting their criteria for relief. RIP then negotiates to buy millions of dollars of this debt at a steep discount, usually a penny or less on the dollar.

Facts about Medical Debt

• 42.9 million Americans have unpaid medical bills, which creates an adverse impact on debtor patients, physicians, and hospitals (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
• Six in 10 of both insured and uninsured people say they have difficulty in paying other bills as a result of medical debt. Over a third were unable to pay for food, heat or housing because of medical bills. (Kaiser Family Foundation & New York Times)
• Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults under age 65, or 116 million people, had medical bill problems or debt, went without needed care because of cost, were uninsured for a time or were underinsured — insured but had high out-of-pocket medical expenses or deductibles relative to income. (Kaiser Family Foundation & New York Times)
• Medical debt contributes to more than 60 percent of the bankruptcies in the U.S. Until satisfied, debt lingers on a person’s credit report to negatively impact their ability to buy a home, get a loan or even gain employment. (The American Journal of Medicine)

Whose unpayable medical bills does RIP forgive?

• Individuals who make less than 2 times the federal poverty level
• Individuals with financial hardship - 5% or more of their annual income goes to out-of-pocket medical expenses
• Individuals who are insolvent (debts greater to their assets)

Why Donate to RIP Medical Debt?

• Your dollar goes a long way! On average, $1 abolishes $100 of debt.
• 100 percent of your donation goes towards abolishing medical debt.
• RIP Medical Debt is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and our EIN number is 47-1442997. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
• We have specific programs for veterans and active service members of the US military.
• There are no tax consequences for those whose medical debts are forgiven. The forgiveness is a gift from a detached and disinterested third party (RIP) is an act of generosity, so forgiveness of the
• does not count as being income to the gift recipient.

RIP Medical Debt's Federal Tax ID: 47-1442997

Disclaimer: In the event that a campaign is unable to meet RIP Medical Debt's local campaign contribution goal, all funds will be attributed to our national funds for general or veteran medical debt.