Public Health Medical Debt Reports
Our goal is to collect, monitor, and share data on medical debt and prevention efforts in Los Angeles County, which we hope will inform and improve efforts to reduce healthcare financial harms.
Learn more about our data collection efforts and read our published reports below.
Data Collection
Los Angeles County Ordinance: Addressing Medical Debt Through Data Collection
Collecting and making public data on healthcare facilities' debt collection and financial assistance activities will increase transparency for healthcare systems, local government, and community stakeholders and allow for tracking progress.
On August 6, 2024, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance to make changes to Title 11 Los Angeles County Code (Health and Safety Code). The ordinance requires acute care hospitals in LA County to report data on their debt collection and financial assistance operations. This data will help inform improvements in financial assistance policies and practices, identify gaps and challenges, and critically, identify missed opportunities (e.g., when individuals who are eligible for financial assistance are sent to collections). The ordinance was adopted on September 10, 2024 and data collection started on March 10, 2025. Press release: Supervisors Approve Ordinance to Require Hospitals to Report Medical Debt Data
As of April 29, 2025, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a motion directing the Los Angeles City Attorney to draft and present an ordinance to the Council that will incorporate Los Angeles County's Addressing Medical Debt Through Data Collection Ordinance. The motion was authored by District 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and co-sponsored by District 6 Councilmember Imelda Padilla and will extend the data reporting requirements of the County's ordinance to the 34 acute care hospitals in the City of Los Angeles.
Reports
Medical Debt Baseline Report and Updates
Our goal is to show the scale and impact of the medical debt problem in Los Angeles County.
In June 2023, Public Health published a 2021 Baseline Report and Action Plan on Medical Debt in Los Angeles County. The report is based on data from the UCLA California Health Interview Survey. We have since developed additional medical debt questions to better understand its sources and its impact on LA County residents.
Informed by the baseline report, on October 3, 2023, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved the motion Reducing Medical Debt in Los Angeles County though improved data collection and innovative strategies to retire Medical Debt. The motion directed several County departments to work together to address this important issue. Press release: Board Approves Hahn-Mitchell Proposals to Reduce Medical Debt for Local Families
In January 2024 and May 2025, Public Health published updates to the baseline Medical Debt report. The 2025 report showed that the medical debt burden in LA County increased to affect 1 in 9 adults. The total medical debt burden remained high and was estimated to be greater than $2.9 billion in 2023.
Financial Assistance Landscape Report
Our goal is to understand hospital financial assistance practices in LA County by looking at hospital financial assistance spending and financial health. This will help pinpoint areas of improvement for financial assistance programs.
In September 2025, Public Health published the Landscape of Hospital Financial Assistance in Los Angeles County report. The report is based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services cost reports and the California Department of Health Care Access and Information hospital audited financial statements.
In tandem, we have released recommendations for financial assistance programs and model documents developed by the Financial Assistance Best Practices Committee. We hope these materials can inform improvements to hospital financial assistance programs.
To learn more about Public Health’s efforts to improve hospital financial assistance, visit the financial assistance page.