Public Health Home
Health Care Consumer Protection
County of Los Angeles
Department of Public Health
Health Care Consumer Protection
241 N. Figueroa Street, #275
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-288-7236
Email: hccp@ph.lacounty.gov
CONTENTS
Introduction
Medical debt is an important issue in Los Angeles County, affecting one in ten adults. Angelenos across the county have bills they can’t pay for many reasons. They might have welcomed a new baby, found a worrying lump, had an accident, been rushed to an emergency room after a heart attack, or been prescribed expensive medication.
Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States, and in 2022, residents of Los Angeles accumulated over $2.9 billion in medical debt. Medical debt disproportionately affects families with children, lower-income people, Latino, Black, American Indian, and Pacific Islander residents, and those with chronic health issues. This burden can lead to physical and mental health problems, and financial instability. People may struggle to pay for basics like food and housing and they might skip or delay medical care. Even with insurance, costs can add up quickly and lead to significant debt which can have lasting effects, like lower credit scores, wage garnishment, and property liens. Even if debt is old and collections activities may have stopped - the medical debts remain outstanding and continue to have negative economic and health impacts on residents.
Under the leadership of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, on 12.16.24 the Department of Public Health launched the Los Angeles County Medical Debt Relief Program, an initiative designed by the Medical Debt Coalition to cancel medical debt for County residents. We are partnering with Undue Medical Debt - a national nonprofit (formally known as RIP Medical Debt) that has erased unpayable medical debt for more than 9 million people in the U.S. With $5 million of funds from the County, and additional funds from LA Care Health Plan and the Los Angeles County Medical Association, Undue estimates it can buy up to half a billion dollars in medical debt for LA County residents and cancel it. Residents whose debt has been abolished will receive letters to tell them that their debt has been relieved starting in early 2025.
Our overall goal is to relieve $2 billion of medical debt so that, in addition to long term reform, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of the 785,000 LA county residents who are burdened by medical debt today. We are hopeful that our philanthropic partners, hospitals, and other health plans will be able to complement this effort.
FAQs - For the Public Expand All
No one can apply for this program. If you have a bill that qualifies, Undue Medical Debt will pay-off your debt, and you will receive a letter from Undue Medical Debt/County of Los Angeles to tell you that your debt(s) has been canceled.
- Be a resident of Los Angeles County, AND
- Earn less than or equal to 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL) (In 2024, for a family of 4, 400% of the FPL is $124,800) - OR - owe the hospital 5% or more of your annual household income, AND
- Have eligible debt, meaning you must have a bill from a participating provider (like a hospital), the bill must be past due, and you must not be using a payment plan to pay the bill.
If your debt is erased, you will get a letter in the mail from Undue Medical Debt/County of Los Angeles. If you lose your letter, you can visit
https://unduemedicaldebt.org/respond to ask for a replacement. The letter will explain which debt(s) has been canceled.
You may have other medical debt that has not been paid off by this program. If you need help with those bills or need to find no cost (free) or lower cost healthcare, please visit our medical debt resources webpage ph.lacounty.gov/preventmedicaldebt.
If you need help with medical bills or need to find no cost (free) or lower cost healthcare, please visit our medical debt resources webpage ph.lacounty.gov/preventmedicaldebt.
No. This debt relief does not count as income, so you don’t have to pay taxes on it. This is because it was a charitable act from a “detached and disinterested” third party. Undue will not file a Form 1099-C with the IRS.
No. The debt is being relieved as a gift to you with no strings attached.
The only thing we ask is for you to help by sharing your story or filling out a survey. Your voice is powerful and your story can bring attention to the medical debt crisis and may even inspire others to support medical debt relief. Filling out our survey will help us see how the program is helping people. You don’t have to give your name, and what you say will stay private unless you say we can share it. If you want to share your story or fill out the survey, please follow the steps in the letter you receive when your debt is erased.
Participating hospitals, physicians' groups and other entities that own medical debt share data with Undue Medical Debt so they can identify who qualifies for debt relief. This includes demographic information like age, income level and address along with insurance status and payer, (insurance company) dates of service, balances still owed, and other information to confirm eligibility. Data sharing complies with
HIPAA and information is securely stored. Undue does not receive medical details like diagnosis codes or treatment.
No personal or medical information is shared with the County of Los Angeles.
FAQs – About the Program Expand All
- The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has partnered with Undue Medical Debt, a national, independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization (see What is Undue Medical Debt?).
- Hospitals and providers in LA County have been invited to participate in the program.
- Hospitals that opt into the debt relief program send large, bundled portfolios of medical debt account data to Undue Medical Debt for analysis. Undue reviews the data to identify individuals who qualify for relief based on financial hardship and other criteria (see Who qualifies for medical debt relief under this program?). A significant percentage of accounts typically meet these qualifications. Hospitals can then choose to donate or sell the accounts to Undue. Undue is able to buy the qualified medical debt for pennies on the dollar of the debt’s face value.
- Undue Medical Debt, in partnership with the County, sends letters to notify individuals that their qualifying debt has been forgiven. The letter explains that the individuals do not have to take any action or pay income tax on this gift. It also includes resources for managing any medical bills that were not canceled by the program as well as how to access free or low-cost health care. The County will make announcements when letters are expected to land in the community.
Undue will provide LA County with regular reports on the program’s progress and success throughout its duration.
To fund this initiative, the Los Angeles County Supervisors have committed $5 million in County funds.
Undue Medical Debt is a national, independent 501(c)(3) charitable organization, (previously known as RIP Medical Debt) that was founded in 2014 by former debt collection executives. Since then, Undue has eliminated over $14 billion in medical debt for more than 9 million people in the U.S. .
Hospitals that chose to participate in the debt relief program send data to Undue Medical Debt for analysis and then sell or donate the accounts that meet Undue’s criteria for debt relief (see How does the medical debt relief program work?).
Participating hospitals enter into several agreements with Undue Medical Debt to protect the confidentiality of patient information and other aspects of the transactions.
The Agreements that hospitals and Undue enter into include:
- Business Associates Agreement
- Non-Disclosure Agreement
- Purchase or Donation Agreement (which specifies transaction terms and responsibilities for removing any adverse credit information that applies to the accounts)
For more details on the shared data files, see How did Undue Medical Debt get my information?
Adobe Reader
Note: PDF documents on this site were created using Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or later. Document functionality may be reduced if you are using an earlier version (4.x or less). Get the latest version of Adobe Acrobat.
Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.
