Chicago Pastor Chris Harris and Skokie Rabbi Ari Hart team up to erase $1.9 million in medical debt

CHICAGO - Chicago Pastor Chris Harris and Skokie Rabbi Ari Hart have teamed up to erase $1.9 million in medical debt for 2,000 Chicago families.

Harris, who leads Bright Star Church in Bronzeville and St. James Church in Pullman, said that Rabbi Hart, of Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue, came to him with the idea. Together, they raised a little more than $10,000. 

They gave that money to RIP Medical Debt, which is a group that buys medical debt for pennies on the dollar. The money paid off almost $2 million in bills. The families don't know yet.

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"When that mail comes to their homes – can you imagine?  I wish we could see all of their faces. I would literally go with Rabbi Hart to 2,000 homes just to see their faces," Pastor Harris said.

Harris said that fear of medical debt keep a lot of people of color from accessing health care.

"Especially Black and Brown people in urban communities, you don't even go to the doctor," Harris said. "A lot of people walk in fear. It affects your quality of life."