Pittsburgh Presbytery fundraiser will eliminate medical debt for thousands across Allegheny County

Jacob Geanous, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 24, 2025

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PITTSBURGH — More than $14 million in outstanding medical debt will be wiped out for thousands across Allegheny County after churches in the Pittsburgh Presbytery took part in a fundraiser to purchase and eliminate the debt.

Over the past few months, congregants of more than 100 Presbyterian churches donated nearly $75,000 as part of a campaign by the national nonprofit group Undue Medical Debt.

The organization buys medical debts owed to health care providers for pennies on the dollar — meaning each dollar donated could erase more than $100 in debt, the Pittsburgh Presbytery said in a press release.

The fundraiser, which remains open for donations, will help wipe out debt for an estimated 12,500 Allegheny County residents, the church organization said. Those helped will learn their debt has been eliminated once they receive a letter in the mail informing them of the program. Recipients do not know their debt is part of the program until then.

"Undue tells us that people who have received this debt relief in the past often have trouble believing it is real, for it seems too good to be true," Rev. Judith Slater, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Duquesne said in the release. "But once they realize it is real, they often say that it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from them and they can move forward in their lives and have a chance for a new life."

An estimated 7%, or 690,000, Pennsylvanians currently have outstanding medical debt, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, while the Urban Institute, a policy research nonprofit, found the average medical debt in Allegheny County is about $1,000.

To qualify for the relief, residents must live in Allegheny County and have an income at or below four times the federal poverty level, which is just more than $100,000 for a family of three, and have medical debt that is 5% of their income, according to the church.

The fundraising campaign by the Pittsburgh Presbytery was led by the church's Matthew 25 on the Move ministry team, led by Rev. Slater. The team is inspired by the teachings of Jesus Christ to care for the "least of these," the church said.

Pittsburgh Presbytery's 117 Presbyterian churches each gave what they could, from tens to thousands of dollars, Rev. Slater said, with $20,000 donated from Concord Presbyterian in Carrick with the proceeds from the recent sale of its building.

"This initiative demonstrated the power and potential of our collective witness to walk alongside our community and care for our neighbors in meaningful, life-changing ways," said Rev. Jessica McClure Archer, general minister of Pittsburgh Presbytery. "When our churches come together, we are able to share God's love far greater and wider than our own churches' four walls."

Addressing medical debt, one of the leading causes of bankruptcy, has become increasingly popular among local leaders.

In July, Pittsburgh City Councilman Bobby Wilson announced that the city was contracting with Undue Medical Debt and spending $1 million in COVID-19 rescue plan funding — which was approved by City Council to help eliminate medical debt in 2023 — to help eliminate about $58 million worth of medical debt.

That donation led to letters being sent to more than 40,000 Pittsburgh residents letting them know their debt had been erased courtesy of the city.

"Medical debt is both a financial and emotional burden that forces families to make difficult decisions and often prevents patients from getting the care they need," Undue Medical Debt President and CEO Allison Sesso said in a statement at the time.

"This partnership will help lift some of that burden from those least able to pay these debts of necessity, and we hope recipients feel encouraged to re-engage with the healthcare system without fear of the cost."