When cancer strikes, this Nashville credit union pauses debt so members can heal
A member walked into Enbright Credit Union in Nashville, Tenn., ready to surrender his car. Diagnosed with cancer and facing months away from work, he saw no way to keep up with payments and wanted to act before falling behind.
Ron Smith, the credit union’s president and CEO, had a different idea. Instead of accepting the keys, he enrolled him in Enbright’s Cancer Care Debt Relief program, freezing his auto loan payments and setting his interest rate to zero for six months, with the option to extend that relief for up to 18 months.
“This is what we do,” Smith said. “This is what we’re here for, and that’s what sets us apart.”
A program born from personal loss
The program traces its roots to a Tennessee Credit Union League convention in April 2024, where Smith heard Andy Janning (founder of Life Over Debt, a national alliance of credit unions dedicated to helping members heal from the financial devastation of cancer) describe the debt relief model Janning had developed after his own family’s experience with cancer. Life Over Debt helps members facing economic distress from cancer and other serious illnesses. The model was pioneered at New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union.
Smith’s motivation ran deeper than professional interest. A close friend named Gina, a nurse and lifelong dancer he had known since high school, lost her battle with leukemia in 2020. “At that point I knew there was something that needed to be done, but I was at a loss on how I could do something that mattered,” he said.
Within a year, he had drafted policies, secured board approval, cleared the program through the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, and enrolled Enbright’s first participant: a team member undergoing breast cancer treatment.
How the program works
Cancer Care Debt Relief operates in three six-month phases. Enbright drops the member’s interest rate to zero and pushes all loan payments out six months. At month five, the member provides an updated doctor’s letter, and the credit union extends relief another six months, if needed. The same review at month 11 can bring total relief to 18 months with no payments and no accruing interest.
The program covers auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and home equity lines. A financial center manager works with each participant on budgeting throughout, checking in at least monthly. To qualify, a member must have held membership for one year and the loan for at least six months. The board has set aside $250,000 for the program, a cap Smith said requires modeling and board approval to increase.
Recognizing that pausing debt solves only part of the problem, Smith also created a 501(c)(3) called the Enbright Helps You Dance Foundation. Named in honor of Gina, who danced on amateur teams throughout her life, the foundation accepts tax-deductible donations and uses the funds to cover everyday expenses that overwhelm families during treatment: car repairs, utility bills, even new clothes for a member whose body has changed and who needs to re-enter the workforce.
The toll of financial toxicity
The scope of the crisis Enbright is addressing extends well beyond Nashville. Cancer is the most expensive disease most Americans will ever face, with average treatment costs exceeding $150,000. Up to 73% of adult cancer patients experience some level of cancer-related financial toxicity, and patients are nearly three times more likely to declare bankruptcy. Those who go bankrupt face a 79% higher risk of early mortality.
More than 100 million Americans carry some form of medical debt, and over six in 10 adults say they could not afford cancer treatment if diagnosed tomorrow. The National Credit Union Foundation has argued that financial well-being is itself a social determinant of health, meaning financial stress does not merely accompany illness but actively worsens outcomes. That framing puts credit unions, as not-for-profit cooperatives, in a unique position to treat the financial side of a health crisis as part of their core mission.
Early results and a growing movement
Enbright, an $80 million credit union with roughly 6,900 members, is among fewer than a dozen credit unions worldwide to adopt the Life Over Debt model. Five of those institutions, Enbright included, are participating in a University of Alabama medical school study examining how debt relief during treatment affects recovery and overall health.
One early indicator is promising. At the New Orleans credit union where the model was first piloted, a member’s Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity, a tool medical researchers use to measure cancer-related financial distress, improved by 250% within one week of having her payments paused and interest eliminated.
When Tennessee’s safety and soundness examiner reviewed the program, the response was direct: this is what credit unions are all about.
