Los Angeles County will provide more than 134,000 residents with medical debt relief

CBS News Los Angeles

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More than 134,000 Los Angeles County residents will be receiving notices of medical debt relief through a Department of Public Health program.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said qualifying residents will receive letters from the county and national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt saying their medical debt has been relieved. The assistance will come from the Los Angeles County Medical Debt Relief Program, which was launched in December 2024 to provide immediate financial relief to residents.

“If you get a letter in the mail from LA County and Undue Medical Debt this week, open it. We’ve eliminated medical debt for more than 134,000 residents, no strings attached. This is real relief, and it’s hitting mailboxes soon,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “This is LA County government at its best. We are seizing an opportunity and making a smart financial decision to make people’s lives better.”

The county said the notices will be part of a first wave of medical debt relief that totals more than $180 million. Through contributions from philanthropic partners, hospitals and health plans, the program aims to eliminate up to $2 billion in medical debt.

“Through this program, Undue Medical Debt acquires qualifying debts in bulk for a fraction of their face value from provider partners like hospitals and health systems, along with collection agencies, meaning on average one dollar donated can erase $100 or more of medical debt,” the county said.

Eligible residents do not need to apply for the program, a letter will be mailed to their address. To qualify for the relief, residents must live in LA County and must be either four times or below the federal poverty level or have medical debt that totals 5% or more of their annual income.

The officials said that although this relief will help many residents, data shows that medical debt continues to affect about 882,000 adults throughout the county.  

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Chelsea Hylton

Chelsea Hylton is a web producer for CBS Los Angeles. She covers local breaking news across the Southern California region. Hylton has previously worked at NBC LA, Telemundo 52, The Los Angeles Times and KOMO 4 News in Seattle.

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