Thousands of families in Atlanta are ending the year with some relief after a church covered $1.5 million in medical debt for more than 1,100 people.
Spirit and Truth Church leaders announced plans to pay off the debt during a church service on 22 December, describing it as a move of compassion.
‘In the middle of rising insurance costs and healthcare changes, we didn’t ask what the church should do — we answered it,’ Senior Pastor Mark Moore Jr. wrote in a Facebook post. ‘Letters are being sent. Burdens are being lifted. Hope is being restored.’
Spirit and Truth Church has campuses in Atlanta and Detroit, Michigan. According to CBS News, the debt relief will support families and individuals across Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Henry Counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
The relief comes as healthcare costs continue to rise nationwide. Medical debt in the United States affects more than 100 million Americans, who owe nearly $220 billion, according to the American Board of Internal Medicine.
A recent study by KFF found that high healthcare costs place a significant burden on US families. Healthcare expenses and the prospect of unexpected medical bills are the top financial concerns for adults and their families.
Around one-third (36 per cent) of US adults say they have skipped or postponed needed healthcare because of the cost. Among uninsured adults under the age of 65, 75 per cent reported going without necessary care due to high costs.
In 2022, 41 per cent of adults said they had debt related to medical or dental bills, including money owed to credit cards, collection agencies, family and friends, banks and other lenders. Disproportionately high levels of healthcare debt were reported among Black and Hispanic adults, women, parents, people on low incomes and those without insurance.