Help Available For Area Residents Struggling With Medical Debt

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By Doug Cunningham

If you have medical debt that has gone to collection in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties, relief could be coming.

Three local organizations – I CAN Relief in New Buffalo, Harbor Country Mission and Lake Street Community Church in Bridgman – are partnering with RIP Medical Debt in an effort to forgive some medical debt in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties. RIP Medical will use money raised to buy bundled medical debt from collection agencies in order to forgive the debt for people who owe it.

I CAN Relief’s Martin Dzuris says an August 24th fundraiser is happening at the I CAN Cafe in New Buffalo and people can also donate online at ICANRelief.org.

“What we are trying to do is forgive debt to people in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren County. Medical debt that went into collections for people in financial hardship.”

People earning less than 2 times the federal poverty level, those in financial hardship and people facing insolvency would be eligible for debt relief. If the fundraising is successful and medical debt is relieved, individuals will get letters by mail informing them that the medical debt has been forgiven.

Total medical debt in collections in our area is in the millions.

“For the three counties it is $3 million that they can buy right now from collections. It’s three million dollars.”

Dzuris says there will be a fundraiser for this effort August 24th at the I CAN Cafe in New Buffalo.