Nearly 1,500 residents across Bartholomew, Brown and Jackson counties are getting unexpected relief — letters in the mail telling them their medical debt has been wiped away.
As part of its 200th anniversary celebration, First Presbyterian Church of Columbus partnered with Undue Medical Debt, a national nonprofit that buys and forgives medical debt for pennies on the dollar. Building on an initial $20,000 donation, the congregation helped erase $1.78 million in medical debt for 1,488 Hoosiers across south-central Indiana.
“It feels like we're doing our part as neighbors to support and encourage one another,” said Rev. Dr. Felipe Martínez, pastor at First Presbyterian Church.
Martínez said the idea came from a family in the church who learned about Undue Medical Debt’s model and made a foundational $20,000 gift. The organization identifies debt that has been sold to collection agencies and uses donations to purchase and erase it.
The church focused its efforts locally, targeting debt in Bartholomew and surrounding counties. Martínez said that approach reflects the congregation’s ongoing work to address both immediate and systemic issues in the community.
“We’re good at zooming in and seeing needs up close,” he said. “But we’ve also been trying to zoom out — to think about the systemic issues that impact our community, like structural racism and systemic poverty.”
Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the U.S., often leaving families unable to seek further care. Martínez said the church saw the partnership as a tangible way to relieve that burden.
“Even if the debt has been sold to collection agencies and is being bought for pennies on the dollar, that family feels the entire debt removed,” he said. “It’s a blessing that we can be good stewards of this donation and make life a little easier for our fellow Hoosiers.”
Individuals whose debt was cleared will soon receive letters directly from Undue Medical Debt. Martínez said some people might mistake them for scams — but the letters are real and carry good news.
“I hope that even if they don't know where the donation came from, they will feel that their neighbors are looking out for them,” Martinez said.
The church still has $10,000 reserved to cancel more debt when the next purchase becomes available.
