More than 134,000 Los Angeles County residents with heavy medical debt will receive a special notice in the mail this week. The notice declares the recipient’s medical debt has been erased or retired. This is the first wave of a new program. Last December, the county joined forces with the national non-profit Undue Medical Debt to launch the medical debt relief program.
The amount of debt being relieved through the first wave is sizable: $183,580,711.32. The program initially aims to retire $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents. Eventually, the plan is to eliminate up to $2 billion in medical debt by soliciting contributions from philanthropic partners, hospitals, and health plans.
Eligible residents will receive a notice in a special envelope from Undue Medical Debt and Los Angeles County. There is no need to apply for the relief. Also, recipients will receive preventive measures to reduce future medical debt through financial assistance programs and increased access to resources. More details on the program and who qualifies can be found here on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website.
According to the latest data, in Los Angeles County, nearly 882,000 adults—about 1 in 9 residents— carry the burden of medical debt.
