Group will clear medical debt for around 4,000 people in SWFL

A local group is buying medical debt and spreading the surprise to recipients using one yellow envelope at a time.

The wife of one of those recipients, Merina, said her husband Derrick was chronically ill for an extended period. The medical bills were “huge” because almost every day, they called the paramedics, included an airlift to Lee Trauma Center once.

Then, eight months after having a stroke, Derrick passed away. Merina was left to struggle under the weight of about $50,000 worth of hospital bills.

“Thinking is that, ‘Lord I’ll never be able to cover this’ and feeling a feeling of complete inadequacy,” Merina said.

But salvation came to Merina in the form of a yellow envelope. The contents of that envelope said all of her medical debt was forgiven.

“It’s like a feeling of pardon raised off your shoulders,” Merina said.

Terry Smith, who is part of the group, Christians for Southwest Florida, teamed up with RIP Medical Debt. They bought the old medical debt for pennies on the dollar. In a few weeks, another 4,000 yellow envelopes will start showing up in mailboxes across our area.

“We want to make sure everyone who falls into this trap, where medical debt is oppressing them so that they cannot breathe,” Smith said, “that we are able to help.”

So far, the group raised $47,000 to buy more than $4.7 million worth of debt to help families across Southwest Florida. This includes families like Merina.

“They are lifting a burden,” Merina said, “that there would never be any hope for otherwise.”