Relief: 134,000 LA County Residents to Get Medical Debt Relief Notices This Week

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More than 134,000 Los Angeles County residents will begin receiving notices this week as a part of the first wave of medical debt relief, marking a significant step in addressing the financial strain caused by medical costs. The notices, sent by LA County and national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt inform the resident that their medical debt has been permanently retired and offer helpful information for individuals who need help with additional medical bills or are seeking financial assistance.

The amount of debt being relieved through this first round of notices is $183,580,711.32.

Launched in December 2024, the Los Angeles County Medical Debt Relief Program provides immediate financial relief by purchasing and eliminating medical debt for qualifying residents. Through an initial $5 million investment approved by the LA County Board of Supervisors, the program aims to retire $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, with plans to eliminate up to $2 billion by seeking additional contributions from philanthropic partners, hospitals, and health plans. 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.

Eligible residents will receive an Undue Medical Debt and Los Angeles County branded envelope in the mail without any need to apply. The program also includes preventive measures to reduce future medical debt through improved eligibility tools for financial assistance programs and increased access to resources.

This medical debt relief is source-based, meaning only qualifying debts held by participating providers or collectors can be canceled. Relief cannot be requested. To qualify for relief, current LA County residents must be either four times (400%) or below the federal poverty level or have medical debt that totals 5% or more of their annual income.

A key component of existing efforts to reduce medical debt accumulation rests in ensuring that hospitals and health care providers have robust systems in place to help those with few resources manage a chronic illness and/or medical emergency. To assist with these efforts, the LA County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance on September 10, 2024 requiring hospitals in unincorporated Los Angeles to report on debt and financial assistance activities. On April 29, 2025, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously advanced a motion, led by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, to extend medical debt data collection to 34 additional hospitals within the city limits. This expansion builds upon efforts to improve the quality of financial assistance programs and debt collection practices in order to reduce medical debt by the LA County Board of Supervisors in September 2024 which apply to hospitals in unincorporated areas.

Details:http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/hccp/medicalDebt/prevent.htm

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