Nebraska Church Erases Over $500,000 in Medical Debt for 500 Families

Nebraska Church Erases Medical Debt For 500 Families Through Yearlong Giving Campaign

Rev. Jim Keck of First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, preaches an Easter sermon on April 9, 2023. | Screenshot: Facebook/First-Plymouth Church

A Nebraska church has helped raise over $500,000 to pay off the medical bills of local residents, with the proceeds going to help around 500 households in the surrounding community. 

First-Plymouth Congregational Church of Lincoln raised the total by Easter Sunday, receiving donations from around 10,000 people, many of whom did not belong to the congregation.

The total was raised throughout the 14-month campaign, with church leadership initially thinking that their efforts would only bring in around $8,000.

"Sometimes love has to be expressed in actions. We have had an initiative all year that is just love on the move," Senior Pastor Rev. Jim Keck said in his Easter sermon on Sunday. "The church decided that there were too many homes right in our neighborhood that were saddled with medical debt. ... The church decided that every dime that went into the collection plate ... Would go to forgive the medical debt of homes right here in central Lincoln."

"The debt collector agreed to give us anonymized profiles to keep people's privacy. ... They would say like, 'a single mother with two kids owes $1,000 is paying $50 a month and isn't ever going to get on top of it,'" he continued.

"Each month, you put money in the plate, and we bought as many of those as possible. It now culminates this year. We have retired the debts of over 500 homes right here in the neighborhood. ... As of this morning, we will hit somewhere around $550,000."

Keck said the initiative follows the words of Jesus, who called his followers to "love their neighbor."

"This is like the Lord's Prayer in action to forgive us our debts," he said. 

The church's website explains that the campaign began in March 2022 to erase medical debt in the Near South Neighborhood and surrounding communities by "committing all of our loose offerings (not pledges) to this effort until Easter 2023." The campaign was done in conjunction with the Debtor's Defense Project, which works to provide "more transparency and protection for those going through the legal process of debt collection in Nebraska."

Others who have benefited from the generosity are a single person living in a rental unit who owed $1,000, a single parent receiving little child support who owed $600, and a food service worker who owed $1,300

In an interview with The Lincoln Journal-Star, Keck said he had no idea the campaign "would go so viral."

"You wouldn't think a pastor would do this; I underestimated people's generosity," he said. 

Most of the donations to the campaign have been between $25 and $50, with the donated money being tax-exempt, reported The Journal-Star.

"There was no screening of people, whether gay, straight, transgender, what race, what religion," Keck continued. "It was an act of pure inclusion, which is such a central ethic here."

In recent years, many churches have worked to raise funds to help their neighbors eliminate extensive medical debts, often raising large sums of money.

For example, in 2021, the New Jersey-based megachurch Liquid Church teamed up with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt to pay off $13.7 million in medical debt for approximately 3,800 people.

Tim Lucas, lead pastor and founder of Liquid Church, said in a statement in 2021 that while "investigating the crisis of medical debt, we learned how it's destroying the financial stability of families in our communities."

"Medical debt is tied to two-thirds of bankruptcies in America, and it ruins credit for families, impacting their ability to secure housing, car loans, job opportunities, and more," continued Lucas.

"In response to the pandemic, our church had a heart to give some fresh hope to our neighbors in need. We want them to have a clean slate to start 2021, and to remind them that they're loved and God has not forgotten them."

In 2019, a Missouri church raised over $430,000 to pay off over $43 million in medical debt.  

According to a report by The Washington Post earlier this year, around 100 million Americans have medical debt, with most owing specifically to hospitals.

"We see that individuals with disabilities, and Black and Latino adults are disproportionately represented among adults carrying past-due medical debt," said Gina R. Hijjawi, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"Consumers need standards in place that protect them from undue medical debt and help them obtain affordable care."

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Local Communities Are Buying Medical Debt For Pennies On The Dollar–and Freeing American Families From The Threat Of Bankruptcy

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Medical debt is a uniquely American problem. We are the only developed country where one diagnosis can plunge a family into poverty.

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Unlike other borrowing, no one chooses medical debt. Many Americans who fall ill have no choice but to rack up debt in order to stay healthy or, in some cases, stay alive. For the underinsured and uninsured, incurring debt is inevitable. In a June 2022 survey, 40% percent of adults said they were burdened with medical debt.

But progress on this issue is already underway. A recent report found that medical debt has fallen by almost 18% since 2020. This change is no coincidence, rather it points to the real impact that relief programs implemented under the Biden administration have had on everyday Americans.

One such program comes out of my city of Toledo, Ohio. In November, Toledo City Council passed a community-scale medical debt relief initiative in partnership with Lucas County.

Drawing inspiration from Cook County, Illinois, we partnered with the national charity RIP Medical Debt and devoted $800,000 of Toledo’s ARPA funds (and $800,000 of the matched commitment from Lucas county) to medical debt relief. 

The way it works is simple: RIP Medical Debt purchases debt for pennies on the dollar and then relieves the debt. Our groundbreaking program will wipe out as much as $240 million in medical debt for as many as 41,000 people at a cost of only $1.6 million. There are no administrative hurdles for community members to overcome. Instead, relief recipients are simply sent a letter informing them their debt has been canceled.

Coming from a public health background, I believe health is the foundation of a functioning society. Amidst a devastating pandemic, I realized voices from public health were often missing from policy discussions and decided to run for office. I served on Toledo City Council, chairing the first standalone health committee, and am now serving my first term in the Ohio House.

Toledo is a struggling city and the pandemic hit us hard. People lost jobs or had to take low-paying jobs without adequate benefits. While the country is on its way to economic recovery, that recovery has been unequal as people with the highest need received the least assistance.

To address those disparities, the Biden administration enacted the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The plan granted money to local governments like ours and empowered us to enact targeted solutions to our communities’ most serious challenges.

After supporting the use of ARPA funds for priorities like job creation, safe neighborhoods, and youth programs, I looked for other strategies to foster a stronger and more equitable recovery. Medical debt disproportionately affects lower-income and working-class households, where the budget is already stretched thin. Alleviating this burden helps families make ends meet and put food on the table.

Now, forward-thinking communities across the country are looking at implementing that model for their citizens. From New Orleans to Pittsburgh, recovery funds or other funds can be used to purchase medical debt for pennies on the dollar, delivering a life-changing impact for everyday Americans. 

Polling finds overwhelming, broad-based support for our efforts. A recent national survey conducted by Tulchin Research finds that two-thirds of Americans (67%) would support the Toledo model for medical debt relief being adopted in their community, including strong majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

I’ve come across many people who have lost their faith in government, frustrated with inaction and divisiveness. However, with the American Rescue Plan, local communities are empowered to implement innovative and effective policies that work for our people. 

Everybody knows somebody who has medical debt. It harms the physical, mental, and financial health of our families and it’s the number one cause of bankruptcy. We need systemic change to end medical debt in America–but our local and state leaders shouldn’t wait for solutions from above.

For too long, we’ve looked the other way and allowed this problem to devastate families. I’m hopeful that this model of erasing medical debt can be a modest step toward a country where no one fears going bankrupt because they need life-saving care.

Michele Grim is the State Representative for Ohio House District 43, former Toledo City Councilwoman, and activist to abolish medical debt.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.Com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.Com

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How To Retire On $500,000

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Retirement can be an overwhelming prospect. The thought of having to live without a paycheck for years on end is downright terrifying for some people. You can alleviate some of this stress by starting to save for retirement early, but what if life happens and you haven’t got the million-plus that most financial experts say you need?

Find Out: What Is the Average Social Security Benefit at 65?See: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track

Luckily there are ways to stretch your retirement dollars so that you aren’t working until you’re 80. The trick is learning how to do more with less and rethinking what retirement looks like. Not everyone is sitting on a pile of cash when they decide to retire. With discipline and a strategic spending plan, you can blissfully drift into your golden years worry-free. Here is how to retire on $500K.

Evaluate Your Retirement Income

In all honesty, retiring with $500,000 is easy, it is the living comfortably that may be the hard part. First, you will need to decide your desired retirement age. Obviously, the later you retire, the further $500,000 will take you. Retiring early will mean that you will need to stretch your income even further. Retiring before you are eligible for Social Security will make it even more challenging.

The earliest possible retirement age where you can collect Social Security is 62, but you will not receive all of your benefits until age 67 (for most people). Social Security benefits can help cushion your monthly income, otherwise, you will have to live solely on what you have saved.

Understanding the 4% Rule

Any hopeful retiree needs to understand the 4% rule. Most financial professionals recommend using this as a base. Using this guideline, you should expect to withdraw 4% of your retirement assets each year (or less) and then adjust each year going forward for inflation.

Experts believe that following the 4% rule will allow you to cover expenses for 30 years. Four percent of $500,000 is $20,000. Thus, you would have $20,000 to live off for your first year of retirement. If you are eligible for Social Security benefits you can add that as monthly income.

Take Our Poll: Are You Concerned the US Debt Ceiling Issue Will Endanger Social Security?

Make Adjustments to Your Lifestyle

Now that you know roughly how much money you will have to live on each year, you can decide whether you need to adjust your lifestyle. Before you start dipping into your nest egg, consider writing out a budget. Write out all of your expenses, and decide what are necessary expenditures. Make sure to factor in things like healthcare which can be outrageously expensive if you do not qualify for subsidized insurance.

Depending on how much you spend each month, even some of your necessities may need to be adjusted to accommodate a lower income. For instance, if your rent is $1,500 per month, you might want to consider downsizing in an effort to lower your costs and make it more manageable to live on $20,000 (plus Social Security) per year.

You can also examine whether relocation is a viable option. The cost of living differs drastically depending on where you live in the United States (or even abroad). Choosing a region with a lower cost of living may help you stay within your retirement budget and stretch those all-important dollars.

Find Ways To Increase Your Income

Not interested in cutting back? Think about ways that you can increase your income. One option may be to take a part-time job. If you do not need your full income, you can find a side hustle that actually makes you happy. Retirement is all about enjoying life, which doesn’t necessarily mean you sit idle.

Prior to retiring, you may want to work with a financial advisor. A financial advisor can help make your money work for you. They will evaluate your situation and determine whether you should invest or place your money in a high-yield savings account.

Wait It Out

Perhaps not the words you want to hear if you are eager to quit your daily grind, but there is some logic in waiting a few years before you retire. The older you are, the further your $500,000 will go during retirement. Plus, if you wait, you can take advantage of Social Security increases up to the age of 70.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.Com: How To Retire on $500,000