Did you get a letter within the mail from the County of Los Angeles with the phrase “Undue” in daring blue? It’s not a rip-off. It’s a notification that your medical debt was cleared by the county.
Greater than 134,000 Los Angeles County residents started getting notices within the mail Monday as a part of the primary wave of medical invoice forgiveness made doable by the county’s Medical Debt Aid Program. The primary spherical of notices is predicted to alleviate greater than $183 million in debt.
This system was launched, in partnership with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, in December 2024 with the mission of offering monetary reduction for eligible residents by buying and eliminating the debt. The funds for this system have been made doable by an preliminary $5 million funding authorised by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors with extra funds from L.A. Care Well being Plan and the L.A. County Medical Assn.
The purpose is to retire $500 million in medical debt for low-income residents, with plans to eradicate as a lot as $2 billion by in search of extra contributions from philanthropic companions, hospitals and well being plans. That would imply the debt of tens of millions of individuals can be cleaned.
By way of this program, the county gives the funding and Undue Medical Debt acquires qualifying money owed in bulk for a fraction of their face worth from supplier companions similar to hospitals and well being techniques together with assortment businesses.
Far too many residents are “one medical invoice away from fiscal disaster,” mentioned Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles County’s 2nd District supervisor.
“In 2023 alone, Los Angeles County residents held over $2.9 billion in medical debt,” Mitchell mentioned.
Not too long ago analyzed information from 2023 discovered that 1 in 9 adults within the county are impacted by medical debt, and “many are low-income households who even with a lifetime of labor might by no means escape it,” mentioned Janice Hahn, Los Angeles County’s 4th District supervisor.
Adults with medical debt burdens are two to 3 occasions extra more likely to be meals insecure, delay or forgo essential medical care or prescriptions and expertise housing instability than these with out this burden, in keeping with the information. Moreover, the info say, about half of adults dealing with medical debt took on bank card debt to pay their medical payments.
“This type of debt usually will get bundled and offered to debt collectors pennies on the greenback who go mercilessly after the households and aggressively for the fee,” Hahn mentioned.
The reduction program comes with no strings hooked up, so that you don’t need to pay taxes on it.
The “Undue” notification within the mail will checklist how a lot debt was forgiven and the place the debt was owed, such because the hospital, clinic or collector that was making an attempt to gather from you.
Since notices started hitting residences Monday, hold your eye out for the letters over the following few weeks.
Who’s eligible for medical debt reduction?
Eligibility for this system is set by revenue, household measurement and whether or not the healthcare supplier that’s owed the cash has chosen to take part in this system.
To qualify for this system you should:
- Be a resident of Los Angeles County.
- Earn much less or equal to 400% of the federal poverty stage or have a medical invoice that’s 5% or extra your annual family revenue. For instance, in 2025, the revenue for a household of 4 that’s 400% of the federal poverty stage is $128,000.
- Have eligible debt, which suggests you should have a invoice from a hospital or clinic that’s taking part within the debt reduction program, the invoice is overdue and you aren’t utilizing a fee plan for the invoice.
Do I want to use?
No. In the event you and your invoice qualify for this system, Undue Medical Debt will repay your debt and you can be notified by means of the mail.
Your invoice qualifies for this system if the debt is held by hospitals, clinics or collectors which are taking part in this system. The preliminary taking part hospitals are Martin Luther King Jr. Group Hospital and Adventist Well being White Memorial Hospital. County supervisors are calling on different debt holders to take part.
Aid can’t be requested.
Did you lose your letter?
In the event you obtained a letter from the county’s Undue Medical Debt program, get in contact with this system on-line.
I need assistance with my medical debt however I didn’t get a letter within the mail?
In the event you need assistance with medical payments, go to the county’s Division of Public Well being on-line checklist of sources for assist. Potential sources embody making use of without cost or discounted hospital companies, authorized recommendation and client counseling.
Watch out for scammers
This program shouldn’t be a rip-off: If the county has relieved your medical debt, you’ll be notified by a letter within the mail from Los Angeles County and Undue Medical Debt. The envelope may have a county seal on it.
Preserve the letter as a part of your information that the medical debt has been forgiven.
Watch out for alleged debt reduction scammers that contact you by way of textual content, cellphone name or electronic mail. And don’t fall for callers asking you to supply info or fee in alternate for medical debt reduction.
